Where No Star Shines
by DemonFox38
Summary: Zelos and Sheena are hot on the trail of a homicidal man-eater as it chews its way through Tethe'alla. Can they save even a single girl? What else have they lost in the wake of this creature-or who?
1. Chapter 1

**Where No Star Shines**

* * *

The stench of raw, wet meat rose through the earth and into the humid summer air.

It had been coming out of the sewers for weeks. At first, the smell was weak, only vapors. If someone walked past a drain, they would catch a momentary whiff of it. As the summer sun came, the scent began to flood the slums of Meltokio. Even that went ignored. Now, it was overpowering businesses. Even the reek of sweat and blood from the coliseum was fresh compared to the wave of impure air. When men with money began to complain, there was no more excuse for overlooking the stench.

The task of finding the source was given to two maintenance workers. Neither of them was overly experienced with sewer maintenance, but they were good at general mechanical work. With summer festivals gearing up and bosses drunk on ale, it was fortunate that anyone was available to help. For two young men with little gald and limited access to alcohol, they had no choice but to investigate the rotting sewers.

Night passed before the two men descended into the Meltokio sewers. They scurried from entrance to entrance, checking every source. No clots in the drains. No stalls in the trash compactors. Even the mice that ran alongside their feet were clean, healthy. Nothing seemed amiss.

"I don't get it," the first mechanic grumbled. He stood up, dusting his hand. "It's not the north compactor."

The second mechanic tossed a set of monkey wrenches into a tin box. "It's got to be the north one. It's been on the fritz all week."

The former wiped some grease off on his overalls. "Well, the southern one's not a carton of peaches, either. Let's keep going."

"Man," the latter sighed. He grabbed the red toolbox and followed his coworker to the next room. With a low grumble, he groaned, "I was hoping to have tonight off, too."

The first mechanic laughed, "Going to spy on the princess's birthday party, were ya?"

His coworker was livid. "I was not!" He paused, then shook his head. "Okay, maybe. Whatever." Crossing his arms, he deflected the accusation to the first mechanic. "You can't tell me that it wouldn't fascinate you."

"I've got better things to do than to be watching some spoiled powder-puff," the first smirked. He stole the toolbox from his coworker and pulled out another bunch of tools. He flipped a switch, and the compactor ground to a hault. Prying off its cover, he grunted. "I'm still training for the next cup, ya know."

Something clattered, but it wasn't the tossed cover.

Both mechanics shot a look behind them. There was nothing there. The second mechanic rolled his eyes and took a look over the side of the elevated platform. Some rats were out in the storm drains, but it was nothing surprising. He went back to the trash compactor, peeling back the right panel. All the gears were oiled and clear of debris. It smelt like petroleum—clean, in comparison to the stench in the streets.

The latter mechanic shook his head, then teased his coworker. "Still want to fight that ninja gal, huh?"

"Hey! Ya'd want to fight her too, if ya saw how she moved," the first hopped to his feet. He waggled his wrench, tracing a buxom shape in the air. "Just beautiful. Powerful."

"Something tells me that you're not as concerned about the second part." The second mocked his coworker. He drew his hands to his face, then spoke in a falsetto. "Oh, you stud! You've defeated me and my feminine wiles! Take me now—in front of the crowd!"

That went a step too far for the first mechanic. "Hey, now, that's just too—"

His sentence was cut off by a low, droning roar.

Both men stopped bickering. Eyes were watching them. There were several pairs, all shades of orange and red. The stench was getting worse. The second mechanic buried his nose into his shirt, trying to smell anything other than that sick scent. The first grabbed a hammer from the toolbox, watching how the eyes danced around them. He could almost see glimmering stones in between the eyes, a thick layer of grime connecting the skeletal forms into one gruesome heap. His heart raced—the entire mass was ebbing, flowing, gnashing against itself.

"Get back!" the defensive mechanic roared.

The eyes bore down on the mechanics and devoured them.

/***/

For more fortunate men, it was a romantic evening.

The air was humid and warm, which did little to help coiffed and curled hair. The night air reeked like processed meat. It was a clear night, though. The stars were gorgeous, all bashful and twinkling. As far as summer nights went, this was a tame one.

A man lounging on the patio soaked it in, for better and worse. His face was as red as his hair. The man had a strange urge to run out to the fields outside Meltokio and just lay on the grass. Maybe catch fireflies. He wondered if the feeling was nostalgia or the alcohol running through his bloodstream. He found his stupid grin creeping its way across his face once more. A part of him would always be bound to high society—crisp suits, polished buttons, clean shoes. Another part was wild and free, roaming the grasslands and beaches, a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left.

The dumb smile would always be there, too.

"Well, well. I never have seen you outside of a party before it is finished, Mister Wilder."

Zelos nearly jumped out of his skin. Princess Hilda had snuck up on him. Hard to do, considering the doors, her clicking shoes, and the half-a-dozen petticoats she had to be wearing. He snickered, but turned back to the night sky, "Well, it's a very nice party, Your Highness. I'm just…you know."

The princess laughed. "Bored?"

Zelos didn't give her an answer. He looked back at her, leaning against the balcony outside of the ballroom. He waved his left hand, "It's very hot in there. I don't know how you stand being in that dress." Half a second later, he corrected himself, "Not that I'm encouraging you to do anything with it. How old are you, again?"

"Seventeen," Hilda smiled. She pulled a fan out of the ribbon around her bodice.

"Good age. Don't have to worry about responsibilities. Just get another year to play around." The rambling swordsman caught himself, then tried to change the subject. "By the way—stay away from the table in the corner. I think you're a little young for that stuff." He smacked his head and turned back to the stars. He'd talked about the princess's clothing, age, and drinking habits all in one minute. He was going to end up in jail by the end of the night. He just knew it.

Hilda moved over towards the balcony. She tried to find what Zelos was looking for, but she lost interest. She never really had the head for constellations and stars. They were okay to look at, but she didn't have the same mysterious drive that others had for the sky. She smiled to herself, studying Zelos for half a moment. For someone with a wild reputation—it was part of his surname, after all—he was stodgy tonight. He'd gotten worse after his trip to save the world. Sure, he'd still flirt with half a city if given the chance, but he was missing his old enthusiasm.

"I suppose none of my buds showed up," Zelos sighed.

Hilda shook her head. He always had his traveling companions on his mind. "No. No replies." Not that they had been invited, really. They were a rough lot, assuming any of them could be found. The princess could only tolerate one or two of them together at most. Even the most refined of them would talk hours on end about the brutality of their battles, business strategies, and cooking recipes. Such topics were hardly a thing to talk about at a birthday party for a young noble woman.

Zelos scrunched up his face. "Ah, well. They're probably out doing charity work, anyway."

"Mmm hmm," Hilda nodded. She wasn't paying too much attention to what he was saying. She lifted one eyebrow, checking the doors behind her. The drapes across the glass doors were drawn shut. This was her chance.

The devious princess giggled. "You know, I loved my birthday present from you."

Zelos looked at her. "I didn't think you'd even op—"

He found himself unable to finish his sentence. The princess was on his toes and in his mouth. She grabbed the lining of his jacket for balance. He staggered, the balcony supporting most of his weight. She bit into his lip ever so slightly. Wrong signals flared through the redhead's mind. His arms and legs felt like putty. Finding just enough strength, he pushed the princess aside and moved away from her.

"It's been a lovely evening, Your Highness," Zelos lowered his voice. He bowed and headed back to the ballroom. "I think it's getting too late for me. Need to get my beauty sleep, you know."

Hilda flushed with anger and embarrassment. "Zelos, wait."

"Good night," the redhead gave her a slight smile, but turned away from her. He wanted to be frustrated, but he couldn't feel too bad. The girl was young. It was just some goofy crush. Given a couple of years, she should get over it. He just had to figure out a way to duck the king for a while. He could see His Royal Highness, happily talking away with some archduke. Heaven help him if his majesty should happen to get wind of what happened.

"Zelos!"

The redhead shook his head. The girl was either persistent or stupid. He went back to the balcony, preparing to give her another gentle warning. Instead, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He saw petticoats go over the side of the railing. His heart twisted. What had she done?

He bolted outside and glanced down. He expected to see a horrific sight at his feet, but not what he found. Where there should have been a crumpled princess on cobblestone, there was a dark, surging pool. Glowing orbs glared at him beneath its gelatinous skin. Sticking from the ooze's skin were tufts of hair, shattered bones, tattered lace.

Zelos reeled back. "What the hell?"

A gush of wobbling mass threw itself up at him. He hopped backwards, avoiding the creature's splash. It hissed against the floor of the balcony, steam radiating off its body. He reached for where his sword usually dangled, an old habit for a phantom blade. He should have known better than to leave it at home! The worst events always happened at parties.

The gooey mess surged at him again. He ran into the ballroom, slamming the glass doors shut behind him. It was little protection against the creature. The mass smashed its way inside, splintering the door frame and shattering ornate doors. Party guests screamed in panic as it oozed over the grand staircase, pooling in the center of the ballroom. It landed on top of one unfortunate noble, smothering him inside its massive folds.

"Get out! Get out now, dammit!" Zelos yelled. Terrified people rushed past him as he searched for a weapon. He gave up, yanking a decorative sword off the wall. He might as well have been fighting off a whale with a toothpick. Still, it was something. Being the brave hero he was, he was prepared to engage the creature while others fled.

A hand pulled Zelos back from the monster. He didn't acknowledge the man's presence, but his stomach sank when he heard the man plead, "What is going on? Where my daughter?"

"Your Highness, I'm sorry," Zelos growled. "Get moving!"

"Wilder, tell me now! Where is she?" the king hissed in his ear.

The redhead shouted at the king, "I don't know! I'm sorry! Now, get the hell out!"

He expected the argument to spiral out of control. The king had more restraint than Zelos thought. He could hear the king breathe through his teeth, but the sound became quieter. The king waved to his guards, and the entire pack vanished. He could hear commands coming from the distance for the knights to split up and find the princess, but he quickly lost track of them. There were more important things to deal with.

Zelos taunted the blob, "Hey! Hey, you big, gross, weird looking flan thing!" He flipped backwards, sticking the monster in one of its eyes. It popped like a volcanic pimple. He pulled back from the beast, smiling as it took after him. Now, he'd just have to do that a few thousand more times. Or run away. No problem!

The redhead leapt out of the front doors, seconds ahead of being swallowed alive. He bounced through the city, landing in a back street behind the aristocratic district. It was not the best place to engage in a battle with a giant slime bubble, but he wasn't picky. Raising out a hand, he smirked and shot off a spell, "Burn, baby! Eruption!" The cobblestone street went alit with lava, sending tremendous heat throughout the gelatinous creature. It roared at him, internal skeletons shrieking at him. He was always good at pissing things off.

The blob rumbled, "Pu-Re-Se-Aaa!"

"What?!" Zelos gasped.

The creature never clarified. A wide tendril shot forward from its body and whipped Zelos. The redhead crashed into a wall, his head taking most of the blow. He pressed a hand to it and felt warm blood trickle down. His vision blurred, not at all assisted by the alcohol in his system. He gritted his teeth as his head felt heavier. The redhead collapsed on the ground, his mind exploding with pain. His ears were ringing, a grainy sound little better than white noise.

His opponent rolled towards him, anticipating a finishing blow. Boney claws punctured the surface of the beast. They reached out for him, preparing to rake into him. Zelos gulped, still struggling to get off the ground. His efforts were useless—his concussion was overtaking him.

His eyes lost focus, his lungs capable of no more than a wheeze.

Screams came up from the avenue. The monster met them with another roar. It rolled past the collapsed knight, body leaving a trail of slime as it rushed after the larger meal. Zelos reached for it, waving his sword with all the ferocity of a tired child. Spells couldn't form in his head. Clumps of earth and fire petered out at his fingertips. He sat back, his sword crashing to the cobblestone streets.

The horrible thought of being consumed by that thing rang through his brain as he passed out.

/***/

Zelos didn't realize his feet were under him until he was halfway to the castle. His head was lulled to his right, hair resting on smooth metal. The king's guards, no doubt. If fear could have powered him, he would have been out of their hold in seconds. As he was, he was little more than a rag doll being pulled along.

There were very few guards remaining now. Besides the four that had collected Zelos, he only saw eight more in the castle's entryway. Where were they? The redhead turned his sight away from them. An overwhelming sense of dread took him over. He stumbled, but the guards had a good grasp on him. They pulled him back up and dragged him up stairs, past the throne room, the kitchen, and the library. They brought him to the most intimate section of the castle—straight to the bedroom of the King of Tethe'alla himself.

Zelos shivered. He was in no condition to speak.

One knight knocked at the door, earning a response, "Yes?"

"We found Wilder, sir. You wished to see him?" The knight asked.

Zelos winced as a familiar voice bid them, "Let him enter."

The knights flanking him let the redhead go. He regained his composure, but his stomach was reeling. Fighting every instinct to jump off the balcony and run, he pushed the bedroom door open. The king was sitting on his bed, eyes red and puffy. He looked decades older than he should, face scarred by the poisoning attempt on his life. Even in this sorry state, Zelos panicked. Not knowing what to do, he knelt. If he could keep his eyes on the ground, he wouldn't have to look at the king. He could hide what he felt.

The bedspread ruffled as the king stood up. There was a harsh moment of silence, and then the king spoke. "You know why I have summoned you, correct?"

"I can take a guess. Princess Hilda is still missing?" Zelos replied. He was surprised that his voice didn't hitch. Gathering up a little more courage, he said, "I'm sorry."

"I don't want your apologies, Chosen. They do not help," the king hissed at him. He remained quiet for some time, giving the Chosen enough time to let that sink in. The king clenched his teeth. "Stand. You aren't being executed."

Zelos complied, his voice soft. "Thanks."

The king snapped his fingers. Two knights entered, roughly grabbing Zelos by the shoulders. They pulled him off the floor, forcing the Chosen to look straight at the king. A flutter of terror crossed his heart. There were worse things than being killed. Maybe the king wanted to torture him. What would he do? Cut his tongue out? Gouge his eyes?

"What's the big deal?" Zelos asked.

The king narrowed his eyes, his voice a constant growl. "I am charging you with the task of finding her. Until then—you are not to leave this city."

Zelos gawked. "W-what?"

The king explained himself. "You are the hope of our county—our Chosen. I need you to do your duty. Fight, and stop this creature. If you leave this town before you do—if you abandon her—" He stopped, his voice choking up. Once he worked the knot lose, he glared through Zelos's eyes and into his brain. "I will have you killed."

"Gotcha," Zelos squeaked.

He had no doubts that the king could have it done, too. He was rich enough to hire any assassin, to make any army. Sure, Zelos could put up a good fight, but he was just one guy. All it would take was a dark night and a hired gun, and that would be it.

Zelos rubbed his sore head. "If it's not too much to ask—I could use some help."

"I will see that you get it." The king's face kept as still as marble. "Now, go."

Zelos had some assistance. The guards yanked the chosen backwards and shoved him out of the king's balcony. Within a few more seconds, he was out the front door of the palace. His escorts remained with him until he was at his front door. Not one to waste time, Zelos unlocked his front door and went inside. He waved the knights off with a half-assed smile, and then locked his house up again. He slumped against the door, his head pounding. The stairs to his bedroom seemed so far away. There was no way he was going to make it upstairs.

He collapsed on his chaise lounge.

/***/

Author's Note:

A long, long time ago…okay, six years ago, I tried writing this story. Life got busy. I lost patience, and then I discontinued the story. In 2014, ten years after I first played "Tales of Symphonia," I purchased the HD re-release. Then, I fell in love with it again.

For several years, now, I've been writing "Team Fortress 2" fanfiction. One rule that I have is that I finish all stories I start. That means I've been culling previous unfinished work. Not fair to have a story out there with no ending. I was in the process of cleaning up my "Tales of Symphonia" offerings when I found this story…and you know what? It's not half bad. So, I finished writing the whole damn story over again. I'm only posting now because I know I have a good ending written.

There are some plot changes and updates. Nothing too significant, but polishing all the same. I've tried to keep up with that energetic, hopeful person that wrote this story. More importantly, it has the conclusion that it deserved to have.

So, be sure to check back every couple of days!


	2. Chapter 2

Morning came too soon. The persistent drumming in his head never really stopped. It continued through his sleep, pulsing in his haunted dreams. Zelos wasn't one to sleep through nightmares, but he needed to be unconscious for a while. He could at least pretend that he wasn't responsible for last night. A pale thought crossed his mind. How many had people?

There was a clatter on the coffee table in front of him. He opened one eye and smiled. Pancakes. Sebastian must have heard what happened last night. He didn't think he'd even woken up the butler. His staff had gotten used to him coming in at all hours of the night, so unless something broke, they didn't fret too much. It was a little lax in security, but that wasn't a problem he was going to deal with today.

"Sebastian, you are golden," Zelos smiled.

"I'll tell him that."

Zelos bolted upright. That was a woman's voice! Sure enough, there was a lady sitting across from him on a cushy chair. She had her legs crossed, arms folded around her well-endowed chest. Zelos knew that voice and those boobs. He was very well acquainted with both, although he wished to know the latter more. He raised an eyebrow, laughing. "Is it my birthday?"

The woman growled at him, "No. Shut up and eat your breakfast."

"Touchy, touchy," Zelos beamed. He ran his fingers across the cold silverware, trying to hide his grin. "Did you get breakfast? This is pretty big. We could split it. Maybe go into the kitchen, find some whipped cream or bananas or—"

"Don't even try," The woman cut him down.

Zelos shrugged, "Fine, your loss." He wasn't ready to give up quite yet. Drumming his fingers across the tray in front of him, he found another tactic. "There's a second fork here. I know it's a salad fork, but you don't exactly have the breeding to care about that sort of thing."

His guest slapped her forehead. "If I help you, will you shut up?"

"You've got a harsh tongue, Miss Fujibayashi," Zelos patted a couch cushion next to him. His guest sighed, but she rose to her feet. She flopped down next to the redhead, reluctantly taking the second fork. Zelos tried to hide his grin, but it didn't work. She nudged him in the shoulder, trying to get him to knock it off. He couldn't help but notice just a crack of a smile on her face.

They settled down and had breakfast.

/***/

It retreated for now. The sun was baking the earth, and it cooked the creature's flesh. It slunk over the protective walls of the city, dripping into the channel below it. This was supposed to be treated sewage water, but it was hardly appealing now. The water shimmered with an oily film. The trash compactors were failing again. With any luck, somebody would complain about it, and then the creature would have itself another meal.

The monster had grown in size. Some of its victims were still conscious, struggling from within, but their attempts were weakening. Their blood congealed, adding to the creature's bulk. It took long to digest their flesh. It had been a magnificent hunt, but its satisfaction wouldn't last for very long. The urge to feed was gnawing at it again. Still, those surface people couldn't resist its power now. How long could Meltokio last? A week? A month? It would all be gone, soon enough.

It gushed through the sewer passageways, stopping by mouse holes along its way home. Parts of it broke off, taking tiny bones with it. The vermin along the path ran in horror. The smaller piles of slime dashed after the unfortunate creatures. The monster could grow larger in pieces, and then combine when it was time to attack again. It had a wonderful, filthy existence. It was its own society and identity, coexisting at once.

Slow movements inside the creature stilled. The struggling creatures were gone now, save for one final human. Its pulse beat inside the monster like a heart of its own. It could feel the lone human shudder and cry. The terror in that human's mind must have been greater than anything it ever knew.

A calculating thought dawned on the creature. What did the human know? It had to know what other humans would do, now that the monster had emerged from its months of slumbering in the sewers. Maybe it knew where to find more humans to feast on. The creature could live off of other creatures, of course, but it felt right to destroy the humans. They had killed it before. It only seemed natural to return the favor. It was only through their stones that it lived again.

Another thought crossed its mind. Maybe this one knew where to find more shiny pebbles.

The hulking ooze split down the middle, tearing itself into two large chunks. A pellet of flesh and skeletons wrapped around the survivor. The humans wanted this one safe, sacrificing their lives to keep it protected. How odd. The monster recognized her, but didn't understand why she was worth an entire group of humans. It picked her out, peeling the corpses away and absorbing their parts again.

The girl screamed at it.

The creature wasn't surprised. Its skeletons turned towards her, empty sockets glowing red. The monster asked, "Heh-heh…hexsssphere?"

"What?" The girl stopped shrieking. She had very intriguing hair. It looked like corded gold. The monster wondered if that was why the humans saved her. They valued pretty things. They liked the shimmering stones and those strange costumes they wore. They even liked those strange plants, the ones that the men and women kept giving each other last night. This human was pretty enough. Maybe that's why she was worth saving.

The blob repeated itself, "Hexsssphere?"

The golden lady shook her head, shivering from the atmosphere. "I cannot understand you. Please be clearer."

That redheaded human hadn't understood him either. The human language was complicated for it to speak. It was difficult to sync up the skulls of the creatures and give them a semblance of breath. It had no other way to communicate with the humans, other than crude body language. It used to know how to speak. That was a long time ago, back when it only had one body.

The monster dug within itself. It pulled a glowing orb out of the socket of one of its oldest skeletons. The stone was covered in tissues—it had grown into the creature, like a tumor or a pimple. It reached out to the girl and dumped its contents at her feet. She knelt down, picking up the object slowly. She didn't recognize it at first. A slow look of horror crossed her face, and then she understood. "An exsphere?"

"Hexsssphere," the monster laughed. It was a strange squelching noise that rippled across its skin, air bubbling out its sides. It smacked against its flesh, regaining its full size. The monster tried talking with the golden girl again, "Want."

The girl's blonde hair bounced against her pale neck. The poor, pretty thing looked like she had been hurt. She was repulse by its suggestion, "I cannot help you. These stones are outlawed by my father. They are being recovered and destroyed en masse by Lloyd Irving and his companions." She regained some strength, spitting at the monster, "You do not want to meet them. They will destroy you."

Lloyd Irving. That name was familiar. It could remember just the slightest details about the boy. He had striking hair, too—it wasn't a bright shade, but it waved in the breeze like a downy crown. Maybe attraction to distinguishing hair was how humans picked leaders. It couldn't remember that much about Lloyd Irving, but it knew he existed. He had friends, the lady said? It could recall them easier. The boy travelled with that girl. The monster recoiled at the memory of her. That girl!

The monster roared at the lady, "Pu-Re-Se-Aaa!"

"Stay away from me!" The golden girl shrieked, curling into a ball in the corner of its lair. She was too frail to fight it. Still, she didn't give up much information. Maybe keeping quiet was the only thing she could do to keep it on guard. The monster did have her cornered, though. It was worth the monster's time to interrogate her one more time.

"Where go? Hexsssphere?" The creature kept its sentences short. It was gradually becoming easier to talk with the human.

The girl shivered, glancing away from the monster. A troubled expression broke her beautiful features. She cried, but she wiped away the tears from her face. It was hard for her to look at the creature. "Most exspheres are now destroyed at the Lezareno Company headquarters." She buried her head in her hands, feeling like she was a betrayer. After a pitiful moment, the girl regained her strength. "Leave them alone! Stop this!"

The monster was pleased. It remembered this place. "Le-za-re-no." It had visited Lezareno in the past so many times. The building lay next to the ocean, mere meters away from the coastline. It smelt like popcorn, salt, and freedom. The smell of happy humans. Many tasty things.

"So, it still lives, too." The creature shook with laughter. "Find it…"

Flesh squelched as the creature separated once more into two equal halves. One dove into the water, slinking its way out into the hot sunlight. It would be protected by the ocean, once it got out far enough. The other half peeled itself around the scared lady. The girl tried to run, but there was nowhere to go. She was trapped in the corner of the sewer complex.

This girl was very useful. It would have to try and remember her name sometime.

/***/

Sheena stood outside of Zelos's room, waiting for him to clean up. She might as well have picked up a book and finished it in the time it was taking him. Half a dozen shampoo and cologne scents passed through his door. She was going to choke on the noxious fumes before he even got dressed. Brushing and drying his hair alone was going to take roughly half a decade.

"You sure you don't want to help me pick out something to wear?" Zelos asked her, his voice muffled.

Sheena blew him off. "You're old enough to dress yourself."

He laughed, "Fine. You're missing out, though."

"Something tells me that if I really ever wanted to see you naked, that's not going to be a problem." Sheena couldn't believe his attitude. He never really changed.

The door to his bedroom opened, and blue eyes peeked out. "Oh, I see. It's more fun in the chase?" He waggled one eyebrow, taunting her with it.

Sheena pushed the door shut. The redhead whined something about his nose, but she knew it was just a ploy. There was a part of her that couldn't believe he was so jovial, especially if what she heard about last night was true. The streets of Meltokio were alive with terror and rumors. People around the castle were especially jittery, and stories were easy to pick up. Some swore it was a living ghost. Others made up dramatic stories about a plague or a foul magician. Every person had their own variation, and most embellished their roles. There were several universal details, though—people were dead, the princess was missing, and Zelos had failed to fight the creature off.

"Do you want to talk about last night yet?" Sheena asked.

Zelos was pretty simple with his response. "Nope." He jumped off the topic as fast as possible. He tried inviting her into his bedroom one more time, "You know, I think I've got some clothes that might fit you. We could have a couple day. What do you think about that?"

"No. Forget it. I am not dressing up like you," Sheena couldn't believe his audacity. "Do your normal bimbos do that?"

"Don't call them my bimbos." Zelos blew a raspberry at her. "It just so happens that you're my most special hunny, so you get the best privileges. Like access to my personal closet, for one!"

Sheena cringed at where this topic was heading. She snapped at him, "Are you dressed yet?"

"Just a second. Gotta admire myself in the buff," he stalled.

Sheena punched his door. She'd had enough of his narcissistic preening. She didn't care if it was an act or not. There was work to be done. She couldn't spend all day waiting for him to get dressed.

"Okay, okay! Cool it, would you?" He paused for a moment, and then put on his underwear and white pants. Couldn't go wrong with the white pants. After a second, he added, "By the way—what brings you into town?"

"What do you mean?" Sheena asked.

"Ah...don't bother. Probably secret ninja stuff." Zelos retracted his question. It was risky, trying to get information out of her. His black undershirt went on next. "Got work to do. The king's jumping down my throat. Pretty sure I'm dead meat if I don't help him out."

Sheena murmured, "Like the king can afford to kill you."

"I know, right? Man, I wish you could have—wait a second," Zelos rambled on for half a moment, but stopped. He threw on his pink duster and stepped outside of his bedroom. His mind started whirling. "Did you hear something about last night?"

Sheena nodded. She folded her arms across her chest, trying to get Zelos to maintain eye contact. "You could say that. I stopped by the castle today, just to drop off my diplomatic report. The castle was empty. I have never seen that place so ...you know. Dead."

Zelos winced at the word, but tried to hide his concern. He smiled, throwing an arm around Sheena's shoulders. "So, you saw the king? I didn't think he would be in the mood to talk about diplomacy."

"We didn't talk for long. He's pretty devastated," Sheena was starting to feel uncomfortable. She tried slipping away from Zelos's grasp, but it wasn't working. He was up to something, and it wasn't his usual tricks. If he was himself, he would have already found her bra strap or goosed her. He wanted her in place for something else. She didn't want to know what.

The redhead smirked, tightening his grip just slightly. "I would think he'd have his entire staff looking for the princess. You heard about that, right? Being the sly ninja that you are?" He added the tiniest of winks to his statement.

Sheena agreed, slipping her hands under Zelos's arms as she explained, "It came up." She didn't like it when he tried using his charms against her. It just made her frustrated and uncomfortable. She could deal with his physical side. His mental state was something that frequently threw her for a loop. She tried to get him off the topic, "Say, where are you gloves? Aren't you, you know—"

He sensed the ninja's cool demeanor slip. He flashed a smile again, "You know, you never really visit me unless something's up. Why are you here?"

"What? Can't I just stop by?" Sheena backed away from the redhead. "I just had the day to myself. I figured, I was in the area, and—"

Zelos backed her into a corner. He threw his arms around her, pinning her next to the wall. He hated when Sheena was hiding secrets. He smirked again, stroking her bangs. Softly, he whispered, "Sheena, babe, I've got to know. Tell me why you're here."

The idiot would have figured it out, sooner or later. Sheena looked away from the redhead and sighed. "The king asked me to help you, okay?" She crossed her arms, blowing off smoke. "I couldn't turn him down. He was pretty disturbed by the whole ordeal."

"Oh, my hunny!" Zelos wrapped himself around Sheena. He nuzzled into her collarbone, "You're so sentimental! My passionate ninja warrior coming to the rescue of her beloved and the kingdom, all for altruistic and romantic reasons!"

Sheena pushed the redhead off of her before he could make any perverted moves. "Knock it off! I only did it because the king offered me compensation."

Zelos dusted himself off, not at all put off by her backlash. If anything, the struggle made it better. He continued beaming, now determined to get to work. "So, my lovely geisha, should we start investigating the mysterious disappearance of our cute princess?"

"You call me your geisha again, and I'll throw your body off the cliffs of Flanoir," Sheena growled. She wondered if anyone would notice. It would probably take a couple of days for his body to wash up, if he wasn't frozen in a block of ice by then. She shook off her murderous desires and decided to get back on track. Somebody else could kill Zelos. It was her duty to make sure that didn't happen. Still, if he was going to keep it up…

The ninja sighed. This was going to be more arduous than she previously thought.

/***/

Author's Note:

The first major clean-up I did with this second was remove the extreme nature of the monster's previous dialogue. Just get it to a point where it was still eerie, but a bit more legible. I also removed a subplot about Zelos having an shock device on his arm because…well, I could figure out other ways to keep him around without cosmetics.

Other than that…old Shelos flames still burn.


	3. Chapter 3

The morning was too bright. Dark clouds were heading towards the east, but none blotted the city of Meltokio. The paved roads were wet. Zelos couldn't recall it raining, so it must have showered while he was sleeping. The worst of the weather had passed through. It looked like it was going to be a nice day. A complete mockery and insult to last night's events.

The redhead and his buxom ninja companion stepped outside his front door. He was half-expecting people to stare at him and point. Nobody cared too much about whether or not he was outside. They were wrapped up in their own lives. One or two stopped to ponder the carnage in the street, but nobody was angry. The city seemed quieter than usual.

"Has the king told anybody about what happened?" Zelos asked his guardian.

Sheena crossed her arms. "I'm sure the city knows about it. He hasn't released an official statement about it, though. He probably doesn't want anybody knowing about what happened."

Zelos scoffed, "Yeah, right. I waged war halfway through the aristocratic district. I'm pretty sure somebody knows there's a problem." He wrinkled his nose, "Probably the maids. They must have one hell of a story about me by now."

"Like they didn't before," Sheena shook her head. "Let's go, already."

The redhead agreed and locked his door. Slipping his key into his duster's pocket, he asked, "Where to?"

Sheena rolled her eyes. "Scene of the crime, of course."

Well, at least it wasn't a long walk. He still felt embarrassed the entire way there. Sheena led the way, oblivious to the street activity. Zelos wasn't nearly so confident. He sulked behind the ninja, staring at her pink sash. His eyes trailed upwards for half a second, then he lowered his eyes to the ground again. If he didn't look up, he didn't have to see anybody else. It didn't matter if they didn't mock him in the street. He felt sick.

No, wait.

His stomach lurched. Nausea swept up the back of his throat. He barely had enough time to turn away from Sheena before he fell ill. She jumped back as the redhead lost it. Several people milling in the streets stared at the incident, but otherwise blew it off. It was Zelos Wilder, after all. He'd probably had one too many to drink.

"Geez! Are you okay?" Sheena fought the urge to shrink away.

Zelos nodded. "I'll be alright. Guess breakfast didn't agree with me." His jaw quivered, and he thought he was going to heave again. Nothing came up.

The ninja shook her head. It was kind of pitiful to see the vibrant philanderer reduced to vomiting in the streets. Maybe the whole situation was making him sick. She remembered how awful she felt after messing up her first attempt at pact-making. He didn't seem so bad, outside of the whole puking thing. She sighed, knowing that being his co-investigator wasn't going to be such a cake walk. But, if the king was that desperate for help…

"Let me know if you need a break or something, okay?" Sheena patted Zelos on the back.

Zelos scrunched up his face. "What, taking mercy on me? I didn't think you cared."

"Come on!" Sheena ditched the redhead.

Despite the lingering nausea, he raced her to the stairs of the dance hall. She didn't participate in his goofy sprint, so he beat her. He pushed the doors open with his back. Seeing the interior of the place drained whatever energy he had left. He stood in the entryway for a few moments, his eyes drifting towards the ceiling. It was so empty.

Sheena nudged past him and entered the large ballroom behind the reception area. It was in tatters. The grand balcony above her head was split and crushed. Tables were overturned, their decorations gone. The tiled floor was intact, save for smudges and dings. Portraits were crooked on the walls, if not smashed on the ground. The entire building felt like it had been aged hundreds of years.

"It's kind of scary like this, isn't it?" Sheena murmured.

Zelos gritted his teeth. "You should have been here last night. That was…" He sucked in a breath of air, recoiling at the memory. "Quite the adrenaline rush, though."

Sheena nodded, "I bet." She sighed, then placed her hands on her hips. "Well, should we start looking for clues?"

"Seriously?" He gave her a flat look of disbelief.

"If you want to find your enemy, you have to track them. To track them, you need evidence of what they're like or how they travel," Sheena explained. She took a handkerchief out of a pocket in her robe and started looking for something even more out of the ordinary than the trashed ballroom.

Zelos stood in place, glancing around the ballroom. He didn't know quite where to begin. In his thoughts, he placed his hand on the hilt of his stolen blade. He cringed and remembered that he'd forgotten the cardinal rule of sword maintenance. He pulled the sword out and groaned. Sticky, congealed membranes clung to the blade.

Sheena turned to him, interrupted from her work. "What's the problem?"

"Forgot to clean this sword," Zelos picked at the residue on the sword. It was probably all gummy inside of his sheath as well. It was going to take forever to clean that out.

The ninja hopped over a pile of debris and yanked the sword away from the redhead. She nodded, almost like she was approving of the mess. Starting at the rain guard under the hilt, she slowly ran the cloth across the blade. When she was satisfied with what she collected, she pulled out her ponytail ribbon and tied the handkerchief up. Zelos was shocked to see her without her trademark hairstyle, but he didn't mind it.

Sheena smirked, and then gave the redhead his sword. "Good job being lazy."

"I was kind of knocked out at the time," Zelos frowned. He put his sword back in the filthy scabbard, knowing he'd have to clean both later anyway.

"Well, whatever," Sheena shrugged. Her mind snapped, and she thought of something else. "What did this monster look like?"

Zelos cringed at the memory. "Do we really have to talk about it?" The ninja glared at him, and he caved. "Okay, okay. It was kind of...I don't know. Gross." He began to suggest its form with his hands. "It was enormous. Just huge. It had skeletons and eyes, too. But, they looked kind of like human skeletons." His heart skipped a little bit at the memory. "So many of them."

Sheena watched the color drain from his face. It was rare to see him panic like that. She pulled a cushion off a ruined chair and handed it to him. The redhead gingerly took it from her and sat down on the floor. He didn't want those thoughts coming back, but they hit him like a flood. He cringed, wondering how many people had lost their lives. The king was only concerned about finding the princess, but what about everyone else? Didn't he care about what happened to the other victims?

"Did you hurt it?" Sheena pressured Zelos to give her information. He was started to talk about it, and she wasn't going to have him clam back up.

Zelos nodded. "Yeah. Little bit."

"Hey, that's a good start." She encouraged him to continue, "What did it do to you? How did it knock you out?"

The redhead smiled, but it wasn't a normal expression. It was dry, devoid of joy. "You mean, why didn't it kill me, right?"

Sheena realized that she wasn't going to get an answer to that one. She'd stepped over a boundary. He wasn't feeling good about any of this, and she got too close to what made him sick. She pulled back from him, thinking about what she said. Sometimes, she was a little too blunt. She would have to finesse that information from him later. For the moment, she needed to focus on finding more clues.

"Hey, Sheena?" Zelos got the ninja's attention. He stood up again, and then beamed like nothing had happened. "Thanks for—you know—helping me."

The ninja just shook her head. "I'm only doing it for the money, Zelos."

The redhead faked his agreement. "Of course." He crossed his arms, still grinning from ear to ear. "Now, if I was Lloyd, would the king have to pay you to babysit me?"

"Shut up," Sheena rolled her eyes.

He half-bounced next to her. "I'm just saying! Not that I'm implying that you like him better than you like me, but—"

Sheena narrowed her gaze. "I'm going to punch you in the face if you keep it up."

"Fine, fine." Zelos threw his hands up in surrender. The ninja turned away from him for a moment. As she walked away, his brain had another mischievous idea. He asked, "How about Regal?"

The ninja spun on her heels and stomped back. "Now you're just being—"

Sheena stopped in midsentence. Something crunched underneath her boots. She picked up her foot carefully and looked at what she stepped on. Her face flushed with hot terror. There was a gooey string of gunk on the floor. It looked like muscle tissue. Grown into the fibers was a vibrant stone. It shimmered like a jewel, but its surface was cracked. Garnet slime oozed from the gem. Both the ninja and the redhead stared at the object in awe.

Zelos couldn't believe what he was seeing, "Is that..."

Sheena nodded. "An exsphere."

/***/

The dead floated around him.

He wasn't quite sure when he had regained consciousness. Everything was a dark scarlet color. His eyes felt cloudy, and he couldn't shut them all the way when he blinked. It was like the world was stuck, everything moving seconds slower than it should. Heavy liquid compressed his chest, stilled his lungs. He couldn't even feel himself breathing.

The human lulled his head to the right. He knew these people, and yet, they seemed so strange. He kept looking at the lifeless bodies, hoping he would recognize one of them. He should have been horrified, but his mind throbbed too much to let him fret. There was an impulse to run, but the human couldn't move. His body felt numb. His mind flourished with images. This was so wrong. He should have been dead. How could he—

His panicked thoughts seized.

There was a dead woman about five feet away from him, floating with the same dull expression everyone else had. How many were there like her? Forty? Sixty? Where did she even work? The second floor? She couldn't have been here very long. Maybe she was a temp or a secretary. She wore a gray uniform and skirt. They seemed so new.

He had ordered everyone to evacuate the company office. Some had taken the elevators. They were the first to go. It was large, but it moved as fast as a river. He'd tried to stop it before it got any further. That woman grabbed him and pulled him into the basement. She was afraid to leave the building, and there were underwater tunnels—vaults—

His heart raced.

The monster had followed them down into the basement. He tried to hold it off while others escaped, but it was too much. Its body stretched and oozed around his attacks. He had a couple of lucky shots, cracking jagged skeletons fused in its body. It hadn't been enough. It used those broken bones like needles and nails, raking his arms and legs with broad slaps. It caught him across the chest. He staggered. That poor woman screamed. There was a lot of blood.

The dead employee was stronger than she looked. She took him by his shoulders and pushed him backwards. The floor went from smooth marble to steel plates. It was so cold, but it felt good against his stinging wounds. He tried to get back up, but he wasn't fast enough. There was a terrible grating noise, and then the vault slammed shut. The security system whirred into action, bars and wheels grinding everything into a fixed position. He stumbled towards the door. The woman had locked herself out!

Her death was quick. There was a crunch of bone, and then a squelching sound as her body hit the floor. It didn't stay there for long. Her corpse scraped along the floor, and then up the walls. He backed away from the door. The creature was still trying to get in. It squeezed its body into the walls, traveling through the air ducts. The pulpier parts of it stuck in the ducts, but its liquids tumbled into the vault. His hands burned as he tried to blast his way out of the door. Its touch started at the back of his neck. A cold fear went through his body, but then he became so warm.

His body slumped, poison flowing through his wounds. He felt anemic, woozy. Sleep sounded like a good idea. There was a lot to do tomorrow. Lloyd had requested some more inventory papers. Or was it Zelos? Maybe it was those Sybak University business students again. At any rate, there was paperwork to do. Tomorrow was pay day.

The living one went back to sleep while the dead decayed.

/***/

"It's humanoid."

Zelos made a face of absolute disgust. "What?"

The scientist reassured him. "The cell structure appears to be human. It looks somewhat like sickle cells, but some of the cells do have an extra organelle. It's a low concentration, though Most likely a minor mutation or a cancer cell. Possibly, half-elven."

"You've got to be kidding me," Zelos hissed through his teeth.

Sheena had taken Zelos to the Elemental Research Laboratory for some help. The academy had grown a little since the last time they had visited, but it was still in the same dank building. While they had no official request from the king, the duo thought it was worth a shot to visit the lab. It was either that, or sneak Zelos over the walls of Meltokio and run towards Sybak. Luckily, the team of scientists was having a slow day. Besides, it wasn't like they could just turn down an opportunity to study something new.

"Do you want to take a look?" the aqua-haired scientist asked him.

Zelos peeked into the microscope. He hadn't done a lot of studying on biology since he graduated from Sybak, but it was worth taking a look. Sure enough, there were strangely shaped cells frozen in the glass slide. It didn't mean much to him. He was a mathematical person, not a scientific genius.

Sheena asked about the other object they brought in, "What about the exsphere?"

A blush-haired assistant chirped in, "It's a fairly advanced stone. I've only seen exspheres of this quality on you all." She scratched her nose. "Well, either your group, or on very wealthy people."

"What about all that gunk on it?" Sheena kept prodding the assistant for information. "That can't be normal."

"My best guess is that it's probably nervous tissue," the assistant replied.

The ninja felt repulsed. She was expecting something vaguer, like they had found a new sort of monster. There was no way that it could all be humanoid samples. If the monster was anything like Zelos described, it had to be something radically different than a human. Then again, he did say that it had human skeletons inside of it. Maybe it wasn't such a far leap.

"Did the exsphere cause it?" Sheena wondered.

The blonde scientist joined the conversation. "Anything's possible. We'll need more time to study what you brought us, if that's alright with you."

Zelos popped up from the microscope. "Absolutely. Take your time." He smiled at Sheena, "Let's let them get back to work, hmm?"

He was acting frantic again. Despite his sudden burst of energy, Sheena could see his skin pale again. She didn't want him puking in the expensive laboratory. She knew she couldn't afford that. The ninja took his hand and thanked the academy, "Thank you so much."

"No problem. We'll forward you a bill later," the aqua-haired one smirked. Sheena didn't think about how much this little excursion would cost. She could probably cover it on her own. Maybe she could sweet-talk the king into covering it for her. Then again, depending how her investigation ended, the bill might not be her only problem.

The ninja led her companion outside of the academy. He perked up a little bit in the sunlight, but she knew he was still sick about the entire affair. He remained quiet as they ascended the main staircase back to the noble's quarters. Maybe it was a bad time to continue investigating the dance hall. It was a little after two, anyway. It seemed like a good time for a break.

"Are you hungry yet?" Sheena asked.

Zelos cringed at the suggestion. "Still kind of ...you know. Bleh."

"Just thought I'd ask," Sheena shrugged. She nudged him in the shoulder, "You just take it easy the rest of the day, okay? We're going to be busy tonight."

A glimmer of Zelos's personality gleamed through. "I like where this is going."

"Shut up." Sheena grumbled.

The redhead faked an innocent expression. "What? I thought it was an invitation." He sighed, and then asked, "So, what are we really going to do tonight?"

Sheena smiled, "How does a night on the town sound?"

Zelos groaned, knowing that a romantic evening was not what she had in mind.

/***/

Author's Note:

Not a lot of revisions for this section. Suppose there were some tense issues with the second section, though.


	4. Chapter 4

The summer heat slithered away as the sun began to fall. Night crept into the town on its stomach. Cheers broke from the coliseum, the crowds roaring with excitement and fright. Few people were in the aristocratic district. Stories of the monster's presence had permeated their topic of conversation for the day, and not many wanted to lure it out again. The rumor of such a creature didn't impact the business district as much. The citizens weren't willing to surrender the night, not after the scorching day. People in the slums had little choice but to go out. There were jobs that had to be done.

In the crowds moving around Meltokio, Zelos felt out of place. This was one of the rare times in his life where he tried hiding from others. He wouldn't have gone out for the evening, if it wasn't for Sheena's plan. Being almost a predator herself, she knew how a monster's mind worked. She weaved in and out of the flock, watching the shadows for any sudden movements. The monster had attacked a noisy crowd, and that's what she had here. It was only a matter of watching and waiting.

"See anything yet?" Zelos whispered.

Sheena gave him a dirty look. "Quit asking me that."

Zelos shrugged. "Fine, fine. Just asking." Despite the drop in temperature, he was roasting. Sheena's plan for tracking the monster required the duo to be inconspicuous, so she had picked up a couple of dark capes for them to wear. Zelos still thought they stuck out. Most of the people around them wore bright, airy clothes. The only people in cloaks at this time of night were rogues and hustlers. It made him feel grimy.

"You're nervous," his ninja companion said.

Zelos cringed, then rubbed his arm. "Just not used to this sort of thing. It's hot and ugly."

There was a short laugh, and Sheena replied, "If you didn't wear such obnoxious colors all the time, we could have blended better."

Zelos shot her a look. "Don't diss the pink. Chicks dig it."

The duo continued their pace, patrolling the crowd with shrewd eyes. Sheena couldn't see anything too suspicious yet. She was getting sick of the drunkards and flirts. People in Meltokio were surprisingly tactless. Zelos didn't seem to be so bothered by it. He kept checking out women that passed by him, sometimes amused with what they were wearing. As long as nothing became too violent or out of hand, he was happy just to float along. They were his people, after all.

Sheena grumbled under her breath. "Are they like this all the time?"

"It gets a little rougher in the summer. But, they usually stay in line," Zelos shrugged.

The ninja blew him off. She glanced away from him for a moment. There was the slightest of movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked back, hoping to shake off the sudden chill she got. The crowd was tapering off. They must have been getting further out of the main area of attraction. It seemed kind of weird. They were near the entrance of the city, but nobody was present. She shivered again. There were no guards.

"Zelos? Doesn't the king have a night shift out here?" Sheena asked.

The redhead nodded. "The security might be a little lax out here. I think the king's more concerned about protecting his part of town right now." He pointed out the chains alongside the front entrance, "Besides, they can throw the doors up any time. No big deal."

"I don't like this," Sheena responded. She turned towards the west wing of town and started pacing again. No lights shown from the residential houses or the item shop. Everyone was gone. A flutter skipped across her heart. No one would just abandon a part of a town, not all at once. Something was off.

She looked back at Zelos. "Keep your eyes open. We don't want anythi—"

A tingle shot through her leg. Something slimy constricted around her. It yanked her to the ground, slamming her down on her butt. She kicked at her ankle. A dark reddish tendril was wrapped around her, dragging her away. She had a morbid flashback about her encounter with the remnants of the Great Kharlan Tree in the Tower of Salvation. She dug her fingers into the ground as it pulled her into behind a house, trying not to scream. Whatever caught her was incredibly strong.

"Get back!Hell Pyre!" Zelos tossed his sword out into the dim lawn. It severed tissue, dissolving the tendril with a burst of fire. Sheena took her opportunity to escape, grabbing Zelos's sword in the process. He drew his shield as she rushed behind him. She slipped the sword handle into his right hand, plucking her seals out of her sash.

Sheena gasped, the wind nearly knocked out of her, "What is that?"

Zelos faked a smirk as it came into view. "That would be our party crasher."

It rolled behind another set of homes, popping up close to the item shop. Sheena wasn't quite expecting what came out of the alleyway. It oozed forward, internal contents all stable but skin continually shifting. She saw the red eyes that Zelos described glowing from cream colored skeletons, all roughly the same size as each other. She was prepared for it to be disgusting. She hadn't expected the veiny webs that clotted the surface like bulges from an old man's hands. She didn't anticipate it to be so towering, even for something that couldn't have been much longer than fifteen feet. It seemed so huge, just rolling and billowing out until its mass made a perfect hill.

The monster greeted him. "Ze-lo-s!"

Sheena winced. "It can talk?"

"Sort of? Kind of," Zelos stammered. Fighting back the urge to throw up, he approached the gelatinous monstrosity. Its hide oozed over itself, like molten lava folding over and over again. The skeletons within the creature all reach out to him, but he kept himself just out of reach. He could remember those painful rakes. They burned on his arms and his chest.

Zelos drew himself up to his full height. "Couldn't just skip out on a meal, could you? Wrong place, buster. I don't take kindly to people eating my neighbors."

The monster stopped wobbling for a moment. It made a hissing nose like a sigh, and then it said, "Zelos." An awful cackle ruptured across its body. Pockets of air peeked open and disappeared as it continued to talk. "Pu-lea-sure...is mine."

"What are you? And how the hell do you know my name?" The redhead cursed at the monster. It was about as good as a mouse with a needle taking on a snake. The creature leaned beyond him for a moment, trying to recognize the ninja. A tendril curled out to investigate her, but she slapped it back before it got too close to her. It made another slurping sound, but it failed to remember her. There were so many people there at the time...

"Gu-rl," The creature moaned.

Sheena was startled. "What?" She regained her composure, smoothing back her hair. "I'm Sheena. I'm here with Zelos to stop you."

Zelos murmured, "Good start. Next time, be scarier."

"Shut up," Sheena snarled back.

A flicker of a memory trickled across the monster's mind. "Sheena." She was the girl in lavender, further to the back. The entire party was closing in on him. He wasn't frightened until the girl drew her axe. Then he died. Then he became it. That's what had happened. It shook with laughter again, muttering mindlessly, "So weak. That man."

Sheena lifted an eyebrow. "I think it's insulting you."

"Hey. Don't be jumping to conclusions," Zelos grumbled. He screwed up his courage, and then approached the monster. He pointed one finger at it and started his verbal assault, "Now, listen here! A lot of decent people died last night. I'm not saying that we can't settle this mano a mano later or whatever you'd like to do, but I've got to know one thing. Did you kill the princess?"

"Princess?" The monster became still. The empty skulls in its body quaked, then shared the word with him. They wanted his gold girl—the frilly, crying human that so many had died for. It roared in its epiphany, lashing out at the two humans.

Both the ninja and her friend jumped out of the way, barely dodging a heavy wave of slime and bones. It pierced the side of a wall, ripping jagged chunks of plaster out. There were fewer things it wanted more in this world than this girl. She told it secrets and information it had forgotten. Only one thing would appease it, and the humans clearly did not have it with them. It would be better just to devour them.

"Just listen for a second!" Zelos yelled at the creature. It squelched, but he didn't know if he had gotten its attention or not. With all those skulls and eyes, it was hard to tell if it was looking at anything in particular. He gulped, then made his demands, "We just want the princess back. You can try eating us later, or whatever you do." His eyes narrowed, "Just give us Hilda."

The blob made a smacking noise, its gooey surface bubbling with frantic activity. Sheena backed away from it, not sure what it was planning to do. It sat for a few moments, just seething and churning. It made a noise like a whale groaning, then it said, "Want her."

Both the redhead and the ninja's skin prickled. Sheena was the braver of the two. She approached it again, "What?"

"The man is weak. The girl is strong," the monster hissed. It made a terrible sound, almost like a warbled laugh. Regaining its composure, it cackled, "I want…Pu-Re-Se-Aaa."

Zelos felt his throat tightened, and the back of his mouth went dry. "Presea? Is that wha—who you want?"

"Zelos!" Sheena snapped at him. Her eyes burned, "What are you doing?"

"I'm just trying to keep it talking! Give me a sec." Zelos growled back. Pushing back a strand of hair, he readdressed the monster. "You're talking about Presea Combatir, am I right?"

"The girl…strong! Too strong!" The monster was wailing at them now. It was angry and frustrated, almost like a sobbing child. Its skeletal forms shrieked as well, reaching back with boney claws over pale faces.

Zelos took control of the conversation again. He breathed slowly, then said, "You know I won't do that, right? She's our friend. I could get you a lot of things—hell, I'd give you myself. But I can't trade my friends, okay? Name something else."

He was expecting it to lash out at him and swallow him on the spot. The blob didn't move, though. There was another squishing sound, deeper and more frantic than the last noise it had made. It sounded like a crowd laughing at them. Sheena tensed up, now past the point of talking to the monster. Zelos still didn't move, keeping his eyes narrow and his posture straight. He had it communicating, and he wasn't going to throw that off.

"Cannot find the girl. So strong!" The monster made his claim seem like a calm, clear statement. It wasn't very logical, but it spoke with such a strange passion. There was a dark edge to its tone. "The man…so weak…"

"What do you mean?" Zelos asked.

The monster rumbled again. Its entire body rocked backwards, jarring its contents. It bellowed at the duo, "I go! I hunt! I will find…Presea!"

Empty skulls screamed as the monster crashed down into the ground. It rolled with surprising speed, plowing away from the ninja and the redhead like a battering ram. With another squelching sound, it threw its gloppy tendrils backwards. Both the ninja and the redhead were caught off guard, smashed away like gnats. It felt like someone had struck them with a jam-covered mace.

Zelos landed awkwardly on his right arm. His ninja friend had enough sense to catch herself in midair and stop on her feet. She dashed after the beast, but she was too slow. It slunk out of sight, slurping down a blown-open manhole. She paced frantically for a moment, then gave up her hunt. The idiot needed help, and she wasn't keen on fighting something of that size on her own in the sewers.

Sheena found Zelos on the ground, pushing himself upright with his left arm. She helped him up, shaking dirt off his robe. He grimaced, "Ouch. That could have been a nasty break."

The ninja panicked. "What are we going to do? It just about killed us! And what was all that about Presea? What if she—"

"She's a tough girl. But, you're right. We should warn her," Zelos smiled. He gave the slightest of glances towards the sturdy gates and walls surrounding the exterior of the city. "I don't think sending her a postcard would be the best thing, would you? Someone should really check in on her..."

"Wait a second!" Sheena yanked Zelos to her side. "If you skip town, the king will think you're bailing out on him. Do you know what that means? He'll execute you—probably me, too."

Zelos kept his grin, letting it settle just enough to become serious. "You're a ninja. If anybody could sneak us out of here, it's you."

That smile put a devious thought in her head. Sure, there were several ways to get out of town. She could brute force her way through. She could sneak out over the walls. Heck, with the guards missing, they could just walk out the door. It wouldn't even take that much lying or sneaking around to pull off. It would just require a little subtlety.

Her skin boiled with anger. That stupid Chosen was going to get her murdered with his stupid ideas! She slapped him on the forehead, then roared, "Could you try not getting me killed at least once today?"

Zelos's stomach dropped at the thought of returning to the king empty-handed. "You're just no fun, hunny."

/***/

"You want to do what?"

Neither the lazy knight nor the ninja expect the king to be this angry. The man could hardly work up more than a low frown, most days. The assassination attempt against him had drained out most of his vitriol. However, it didn't help that they had shown up early in the morning, completely ragged from their previous night, boots still drenched with slop. Not having any clues about the princess' whereabouts wasn't working in their favor, either.

Sheena raised her hands. "Look. I know this sounds crazy, but—"

"Silence!" The king cracked his staff against the ground.

Stifling the need to roll her eyes or shout, Sheena glared at Zelos. If she couldn't get the king to listen, then he was their only hope. At least he had a little more sway in the courts of Meltokio. Zelos sighed, then patted Sheena on the shoulder. If she wasn't grateful for him taking over the conversation, she would have snapped it off.

"Give it a thought, Your Highness." Zelos smirked, his voice smooth as the unbroken surface of a calm lake. "It's not a completely stupid monster. It has needs, just like you and me. So, we go about figuring out why this thing wants my rosebud, we'll all be better off." He paused, letting his grin grow wider. "Plus, she did help save both you and your kingdom. Just throwing that out there. Not to mention the decade of service she did for you."

The king didn't immediately roar back. He placed a hand on his temple, working his fingers past old scars. She was another young girl, just like his daughter. A valuable citizen of Tethe'alla. That didn't quell the dread he had over his missing child. Saving one girl didn't guarantee another would be saved.

"You and Miss Fujibayashi are the only ones that have fought this monster and lived," the king grumbled. "We cannot lose you for long. By nightfall, we will be at its mercy."

Zelos jumped into the open opportunity. "Then, we'll take an Elemental Cargo out to Ozette! That should give us plenty of time to find Presea. We might even be back for tea, if you want."

It wasn't an unreasonable request. The king relaxed his spine, then turned from his guests. As long as no one went down into the sewers, there would be no victims while the sun was out. At least, it hadn't attacked before during daylight. A lingering pain burned in his side. His daughter was still out there. He was certain of it. Now, on her second day of disappearance, she must have been falling weak. She wasn't rough and tumble like this lot. It was hard to imagine her surviving on her own.

If she was alive at all.

The king struggled with his turmoil. "If what you say is true, Zelos…then, perhaps your young friend is in danger. At the very least, as the ruler of her country, I cannot allow for her to suffer the same fate as my daughter."

Sheena perked up. "Are you letting us go?"

"For as long as the sun remains in the sky, you have permission to leave Meltokio," the king agreed. "However! Should you not be back before the gates rise at nightfall…" His last words were black ichor on his lips. "I will have you both executed as traitors of the kingdom."

Zelos winced as the king cracked his staff down once more, then rubbed his neck. Leave it to the King of Tethe'alla to make freedom seem like a capital offense.

/***/

Author's Note:

Originally, I had Princess Hilda as part of the first exchange. She seemed pretty useless at the time, so I nixed her role.

Any comments? Am I posting too fast or too much? You are a very quiet bunch.


	5. Chapter 5

The redhead kicked his legs up on the Elemental Cargo's console, crossing them at the heels. He closed his eyes and folded his arms behind his head. "Are we there yet?"

Sheena groaned. "What are you, five?"

Zelos made no snappy comeback. He let her simmer in her rage as he thought about their goal. It had been some time since he had last seen Presea. Too long, in fact. He had hoped to do something fun when they finally met up again. Maybe go shopping or carve a bear or whatever she liked to do. This business with some weird monster knowing her name was not news he wanted to bring to her. She didn't deserve to have some abhorrent psychopath hunting her down.

His skin prickled at the idea. An entire legion of the king's finest soldiers wasn't enough to kill this monster. He was pretty sure that, had the beast had any sense, both Sheena and he would have been dead as well. There were inconsistencies with the monster. It had an unfulfilled urge to devour, but it kept leaving Zelos alive. It looked like something out of a nightmare, but it was at least made up of human parts. It wasn't intelligent or linguistically gifted. It was just ruthless.

He snapped out of his somber state. "This just really gets under my skin, you know? Monsters going after cute girls…just ticks me off!"

"Don't worry, okay? She's a tough kid." Sheena sighed, then glanced down at the cargo's console. "We'll have plenty of time to find her. We've just got to be back to Meltoki—oh—"

There was a heavy thump inside of her head. It felt like her heart was blasting her brain out. Her vision went white, fogging over in a liquid cloud. She braced the ship's wheel, trying not to fall out of her chair. Zelos jumped, catching the wheel with his right hand and wrapping his left arm around her. She shuddered in his grasp, slumping into his chest. Her mind burned and ached. Her breathing went ragged, only managing shallow gasps.

Zelos slammed buttons, throwing the ship into an instant halt. He sat the ninja on the floor, unsure what was going on. He held her, trying to get her to snap out of it. She wasn't fighting him. Not like her at all. She continued hiccupping, making a strange noise between a sob and a gasp.

And then she stopped.

The ninja opened her eyes again. The haze had faded away. She pushed herself away from Zelos, muttering curses in Mizuho's hidden language. Zelos boggled at her, but his eyes alone weren't enough to get answers from the frightened ninja.

"Are you okay?" Zelos asked, getting up off the floor.

Sheena turned to him, but didn't say one way or another. "That was weird."

Zelos nodded slowly. He pushed himself off the floor, dusting his rump off. "What was that all about?"

"I don't know. I couldn't see or breathe..." Sheena slumped back into the driver's seat. "Never felt anything like that before."

The redhead scratched at his scalp. "That was terrifying. And you're just okay now?"

"Don't look at me like I'm a freak. I wasn't the one puking up in your neighbor's yard yesterday," Sheena shot back.

Zelos screwed up his face, but he didn't make a comeback. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Sheena's shoulders and legs. While she was protesting, he picked her up and dropped her into the next seat. She sneered at him, and then punched him in the arm. He yipped in surprise—that stung a little more than he expected.

"Ow! Would you cut it out?" Zelos growled. He plopped himself into the Elemental Cargo's driver seat. With a few switch flips and button presses, the craft hovered back to life. He smirked, "If you're going to be a hazard, I'm going to drive."

Sheena didn't argue with him. She wasn't above name-calling, though. "Idiot Chosen."

Zelos shrugged. "Don't be jealous. I'll have us there in no time."

The ninja just shook her head. She was never going to hear the end of this.

/***/

That day on the cliffs.

For the first time in quite a few hours, his mind fluttered with activity. He should have known better. They should have searched longer, combed the beaches and the sea for at least a month. There was so little time, though. The company was struggling to recover from fiscal damages caused by destroying the mines. They had other hot tips for finding exspheres, and they needed to follow those leads. All they had was that one little day—just a day before the week geared back up.

Colette was so excited to be out there. It was the first time in a long while that she got to go swimming. She'd had just a taste of beach life in Altamira, but that was enough to hook her. Lloyd was thrilled too. He even brought his snorkel with him. It wouldn't be a lot of use, considering how far down they were going, but his enthusiasm was remarkable.

His head hurt.

They spent most of the morning learning how to scuba dive. It took them a little while to get comfortable with the pressure from the depths, but they shrugged it off. They were excited to see what was left of the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. Most of it was underwater now, torn apart by the shifting continents. Still, white pillars popped out of the ground every few meters. The damage traced north of Meltokio's continent, giving it a brick crown. Deep underwater, there were so many more columns. It looked like submerged ruins. If Raine wasn't so afraid of swimming, she would have loved it too.

The day went by slowly. They poked and prodded around every piece of debris there was. Colette thought she had found one exsphere, but it turned out just to be a bracelet charm. She adored it, though. The blonde went on for a while about how she was going to polish it and wear it later. She said that the gemstone looked like it had a thunderstorm in it. Lloyd called her a dork. She giggled. It was fun.

But they never found any of the exspheres.

"It's okay," Colette was always so optimistic. "We'll find them!"

He worried about scavengers. What about damage to the ecosystem? Were any of them destroyed? Where did they all go?

Lloyd was positive, too. "They've got to be around her somewhere. They couldn't have all disappeared."

Three thousand of them. Three thousand exspheres, all vanished. Lloyd was probably right. It wouldn't take that long to locate them. But a week had passed, and they had picked up rumors of traders hocking off exspheres as normal gemstones. They had to cancel their search for that weekend. And the next. And the next. But they could do it this weekend. He got their letter yesterday. They would come back.

"Do you know…why we took you?"

The voiceless question burned in his mind. It was getting harder to see, but he could still make out shapes. He would lose consciousness from time to time, and then he'd wake back up. They would be a little less flesh, a little more bone. Their heads would look at him, and there would be spheres in their sockets. They glowed, from time to time. Sometimes, they'd scream. The room would surge and ache. It felt so small in here—too small for all of these minds. He could hear the metal creaking as the creature pushed against it. It was still too weak to break out. The pressure was beginning to rise. It was like he was under the ocean again.

"Do you know…why we need you?"

It wanted his body. His exsphere throbbed, defiant against the tide around him. He knew that his existence was making this monster ill. He was a tumor it couldn't expel. So it grew around him, letting him burn until his blood stopped cold. The way his mind was failing...he knew it wouldn't be much longer.

"Do you know…why we despise you?"

The answer was drowned in a sea of sickness.

/***/

A small shack lay on the outskirt of Ozette. It was one of the intact places left in the small village. People were hard at work to restore the town, though. They worked on the upper ends, trying to get the shops and the hotels back up and running. The tiny house hadn't changed that much. It was mostly old lumber, although a few logs here and there had been replaced. It still had a dreary overcast to it, but there were flowers and curtains in the window. There were even chairs out on the porch. It seemed kind of homey, for once.

But it was completely empty.

Zelos kept pounding on the door. "Presea?" He knocked a few more times, "Come on! It's me, your number one knight in shining armor!"

"I don't think she's home," Sheena muttered.

Zelos rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. Where else would she be?" He continued hammering on the door, "Presea! My lovely rosebud! Come on! This is kind of important!"

"Aye, would ye cut it out already?"

The ninja and the redhead turned to a surly construction worker with a grizzled beard. He barked at him, "The gal went on a trip. Ya just missed her by a couple o' days."

Zelos slammed his face into his palm. Sheena took over for him, "Do you have any idea where she went, or when she's coming back?"

The worker shrugged. "Not a clue. But she said she'd be back early next week."

"Fantastic." Zelos wrinkled his nose. "Should have guessed something like this was going to happen."

Sheena nudged the redhead in the ribs, hoping that would shut him up. He made a coughing noise, like she'd knocked the wind out of him. She was quick to thank the worker for his information, and then dragged Zelos away from the house. She didn't like standing outside of an empty house. It made her feel like a thief. Well, a less scrupulous thief.

The duo made it outside of the village. Zelos was unusually quiet about the whole situation. A sickening feeling started rising in his throat. They could just wait back in Meltokio a couple of days—really, it would just be the weekend. How far could the monster get without transportation? How did it get around, anyway? Maybe it would be a better idea to keep her away from Meltokio. At least he knew that's where the monster was. If it could get out anywhere else, it couldn't be that fast. Maybe they could wait.

He shivered. "No way."

Sheena shot him a look. "No way what?"

"Ah, nothing, hunny." Zelos paced in front of her. He placed his hands on the back of his neck. "How much longer do we have until we have to get back?"

The ninja surveyed the sky. The sun was about directly overhead now. "I'd guess maybe five, six hours."

Zelos nodded. "Okay. We could probably swing by Sybak or Altamira before we go back to Meltokio, if you think she stopped there. Do you think Mizuho would know anything about Presea's location?"

"I don't know, Zelos," Sheena grumbled. "It's just a vacation. We probably wouldn't need to keep tabs on her for just that."

Zelos growled. "And I thought you ninjas knew everything!" He placed his left arm akimbo, pushing out of the forest brush with the other. "You know, I wish that somebody would just throw me a—"

Clank!

The red head collapsed at the forest's edge. Sheena ducked behind a tree, pulling a few seals out of her robe. How could she let her guard down? She waited behind the trunk, hoping that whatever had attacked Zelos would come into sight. Her heart raced. Footsteps crunched as they approached his fallen body. It sounded like there was more than one of them. She'd have to be alone on this one. It was just her versus—

"Oh, no! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry."

Sheena dropped her guard and sighed. It was just another dumb Chosen. She pealed from out of her hiding spot and went to check up on Zelos. There was a sizeable scratch in his forehead, but other than that, there wasn't any fresh damage. Colette, however, was very confused about his sudden appearance. She had the redhead in a headlock, stroking his hair and profusely apologizing.

"Colette? What happ—oh. Hi, Sheena," the blonde's companion greeted the ninja. He jogged from the shoreline, smiling as bright as ever. There was something charming about Lloyd's perpetual optimism.

Sheena crossed her arms and smirked. "Well, I'm shocked to see you two out here. I thought you'd be going through some dank caverns or abandoned ruins right about now."

Lloyd's cheerful expression flattened into one of embarrassment. "We're not Raine and Genis, you know."

"Good thing too, otherwise I'd be out all day," Zelos moaned. He sat back up and rubbed his head. "That's going to sting later."

Colette stood up, satisfied that she hadn't incapacitated the redhead. She beamed, "Sorry about that. Lloyd and I were just on a break, so we were playing a game of catch. I guess I must have thrown my chakram a little too hard."

Sheena shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, well. Maybe it was guided by karma."

"Karma? Are you kidding me?" Zelos bounced off the ground, now filled with a new wave of energy. "I haven't done anything today that warranted a disc to the face!"

Lloyd snickered, but resisted giving a smartass comeback. He ignored the redhead's plight, asking his friends, "So, what are you guys up to?"

"You wouldn't believe it." Sheena threw her arms up in the air, over-exaggerating her frustration. "This huge monster attacked Meltokio!"

Colette wrinkled her nose. "How awful!"

Zelos nodded. "I know!" He brought a hand up under his chin, thinking for a moment. "Worse off, the princess is missing, and the King of Meltokio's going to go insane if I don't find her and stop this thing!"

Lloyd's eyebrows furrowed. "What? Why didn't you guys tell us about that?"

Zelos shot Lloyd a dirty look. "It's been a busy couple of days, okay? Besides, it's not like you two are easy to track, what with the whole journey to collect expheres and—"

The redhead stopped midsentence. He glanced over at Sheena, who wasn't catching on quite as fast as he was. With a slow realization, her eyes widened. The monster was made up of exspheres. Lloyd and Colette were hunting the stones. Jackpot.

"Are you two okay? You kind of look sick," Colette asked after an uncomfortable period of silence.

Sheena grimaced, but decided to tell them. "Zelos was able to hurt the monster. We had the scientists at the Elemental Research Laboratory investigate what he cut off. Turns out, part of it is made out of exspheres."

Lloyd's face muddled in confusion. He delivered his thoughts on the matter in as much complexity as he could muster. "What?"

Zelos paced around the duo, "But that's not even the weirdest part! It knows me, and Sheena—and Presea! That's why we came here to find her."

"Really? That's a relief," Lloyd wiped his forehead. "From the way you guys were talking, I thought you were trying to outrun the Meltokio guards or something."

Sheena blanched at the comment. "W-what do you mean by that?"

"Did you find Presea?" Colette interrupted the conversation, hoping to avoid any conflicts.

Sheena appreciated the change in subject. "No. The workers around town said she was on vacation." She sighed, and then added, "I suppose you guys wouldn't know where she is, either."

Both of them shook their heads. Lloyd explained, "We were just following another exsphere rumor around here. We had a little more time on our hands, so we thought we'd come back."

"Rumor, huh?" Zelos half-smiled. "What kind of rumor did you hear this time?"

Lloyd shrugged. "Colette and I have been trying to get exspheres out from where we think the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge fell. There's a lot of debris, but we haven't found any exspheres."

"You haven't found three thousand exspheres?" Sheena gasped. "Geez, you think you'd find at least broken ones or something."

Zelos couldn't believe it either. He shook his head, "It's not like anyone would go excavating exspheres from the ocean. Well, nobody but you two. I mean, you'd think you'd see a flood of them on the black market or something."

Colette was disturbed by it as well. "It's like going into an orchard, but there are no apples on the trees. It's like something gobbled them up."

The analogy didn't sit well in Zelos's mind. All he could think of was a gigantic fish swooping around the bottom of the ocean, just sucking up everything it could find. Exspheres just didn't vanish. It would have to take a coordinated effort to get them. That, or it would have to be something very big. Enormous. Engulfing.

Zelos snapped to attention. "When did you guys go looking for them last?"

"About a month ago. Regal took us scuba diving around there," Colette answered. She showed off her wrist. "I found this little charm when we were diving. I thought it was pretty."

Sheena's mind twisted in a grotesque thought. "And you didn't find any then?" Both the blonde and the swordsman shook their heads. The ninja gritted her teeth, then asked, "Has he contacted either of you since then? Did he find any exspheres?"

Lloyd shook his head, still more confused than panicked. "No. We were going to visit him this weekend, but—"

Zelos's brain clicked into gear. "The monster knew me and Sheena. And Presea. But how would it know all three of us?" His jaw went agape. What the hell would know about the friendship between a Chosen, a ninja, and a lumberjill from three separate cities? And if it knew about three infamous citizens of Tethe'alla—what would stop it from knowing about a fourth?

A fourth with information about what it needed?

He grabbed onto Lloyd's jacket, shaking him at the elbows. "When in the hell did you guys last talk with Regal?"

"Colette told you! A month ago. I mean, we've had letters and stuff, but…" Lloyd's face scrunched up, confused about the question. "Hey, you don't think—"

"Ah, crap!" Zelos shoved Lloyd backwards, knocking him to the ground. He hissed between his teeth, uttering a cuss under his breath as he ran back towards Ozette. His remaining friends stared at him in dumbfounded disbelief. It was like he had taken a few too many hits to the head or was skirt-chasing. Lloyd tried to think of something to say, but he was dazed. He got back off the grass and dusted his pants off.

Colette murmured, "Sheena? Is he okay?"

"…I think we're taking a detour." Sheena grumbled. She took off into the forest, running after the redhead like a hunter chasing a rabid hart. She hissed back behind her, "You guys coming with us or what?"

The duo looked at each other and sighed. So much for their game.

/***/

Author's Note:

I find it fun to write Colette's ditzy dialogue.


	6. Chapter 6

The sea darkened as the sky turned a dismal shade of gray. Everything washed out, color draining on the edges of the moving storm. Lightning shimmered across the sky and ended in explosive thunder. Warm rain pelted the dull ocean. The same storm that had previously haunted Meltokio now had Altamira in its clutches. While it hadn't picked up enough power to spin into an all-out hurricane, its presence was still tangible.

As the Elemental Cargo pulled into port, the group noticed something abnormal. The coast was lined with ships, but none of them were running. They hadn't encountered anyone passing this way, either. It was like they had all been marooned or abandoned. The ones that had been improperly tied down drifted into the outskirts of the town, some smaller vessels flipped on their sides. No one wanted to say what they were thinking. It could have been some freak tide or storm that had passed through before. It was so strange to see the coast frozen in time.

Zelos was the first to break the silence. "Well…Anchors away!"

"Just shut up and get to the coast," Sheena cut him short.

Within a few minutes, the group settled on the white coasts enveloping the town. Zelos took care of the ship with a snap of his fingers, shrinking the vessel inside of the wing pack. Lloyd frowned, taking the action into consideration. He still wasn't used to some of the more advanced technology that Tethe'alla had developed. "You think everyone else could have done that?"

Sheena nodded. "Probably for the smaller boats, anyway. Maybe not cruise ships, but I really don't know."

Colette murmured softly, "The park's not running."

Everyone turned to the direction of the amusement park. Nothing was operational. The Ferris wheel swung back and forth in the storm, but did little else as far as movement went. A flock of seagulls sat along the tracks of the roller coaster, flying here and there from time to time. There were no sounds of children laughing or the usual hustle of people. Despite its bright colors, it looked dark and looming, like the attractions could fall over and crush anything nearby within minutes.

"Ah, you've got to be kidding me," Zelos winced. "There's got to be somebody here, right?"

Nobody answered his question. Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck, trying to stuff down his concern. "Well...let's just go find Regal."

Colette nodded, now fueled by a spark of optimism. "Right. He's got to know something about missing exspheres. Maybe he'll even know where Presea is!" She clapped her hands at the sound of the idea. "Come on! Let's go!"

Zelos made a pained face. "As long as we don't have to skip and hold hands."

The quartet found the tracks that ran to the Lezareno Company office soon enough. To Zelos's dismay, no cart waited for them. The ferryman was missing as well. Sheena didn't seem to mind so much. She stepped onto the tracks, water wading up to her ankles. A slurping feeling squashed in between her toes. It wasn't all that bad, though.

The rest of the members followed her down the watery path. Colette managed to keep drier than everyone else, hovering over the railroad tracks with broad, sparkling wings. Zelos kept having bad thoughts about lightning striking them. He knew he was going to have to replace his boots after this. It wasn't like he couldn't afford it, but he'd rather not waste his money on getting a pair of boots that he already had. He watched the ninja and the swordsman in front of him, wondering how they could be so complaisant about sloshing on.

As they finally came to the company headquarters, they were greeted with the same stark appearance that the rest of the town had. The building's windows were caked with grime. There was one tiny flicker of activity. Two floors up, on a desk by a window, was a minuscule light. It was dying, blinking in and out like an emergency signal. At least something was active in the building.

Lloyd led the way, entering the building and hopping into the main lobby. Zelos followed, wringing out the bottom of his pants as soon as he was out of the water. Sheena shook her head, not believing how fussy he was. Colette came in after her, flying over the protective railing and landing with a small bump on the tiled floor. She smiled, but the expression was short lived.

"Looks like nobody's here," Colette sighed. She walked over to the receptionist's desk, hoping to find a clue. Water-logged documents laid in heaps around the desk, records faded from legibility. What she could make out wasn't promising. It looked like it had been a couple of days since anything had been logged. It was so strange, though. Wouldn't somebody notice if the Lezareno Company just stopped running?

Her attention drifted to her left, "Nobody's been here since—aah!"

Everyone's focus jolted to the object in front of one of the dilapidated elevators. It was rigid, fixed in a perfect ninety degree angle. Dark blood had dried at the elevator's entrance. A torn suit jacket dangled from its edge. It looked like someone had stuck their arm too far out of the elevator, and as it collapsed...

Zelos couldn't push the image from his mind. "Ugh."

"You think…someone could have helped them," Sheena scrunched up her face.

Lloyd crossed his arms. "Then why is that light on upstairs?"

"Good question." Sheena agreed. "I know a way we could find out."

"Hell no. I'm not going up there." Zelos shook his head. "I've had enough crap for one day."

Sheena shrugged. "Fine, then." She waved Colette over. "Come on. Looks like it's you and me. Let's go."

"What? I want to go up there too!" Lloyd protested.

The ninja smirked. "Someone's got to take care of that idiot. If he doesn't want to come up with me, then he can stay with you. You're tough enough to deal with any monster, right?"

Lloyd frowned. "Fine. Guess we should check out what's going on around here, too."

"No, no, no. We are not doing this!" Zelos continued to fight against the idea. "You know what happens when people split up in a creepy mansion? Bad things. And this is like a hundred times worse than any old house could be." He flailed his arms around, pointing at the tattered mess on the floor. "Do you see that?"

Colette flashed Zelos a smile. "It's okay. We'll be back shortly." With that, she flew off the ground and up the elevator shaft. She disappeared in a flash of pink mana. Sheena nodded, liking the blonde's style. She charged into the shaft, grabbing onto a loose cable. With the dexterity that only a ninja could possess, she began to ascend the elevator shaft.

Zelos couldn't believe his eyes. "You know there's probably a stairwell around here somewhere, right?"

"It's more fun this way," Sheena laughed. Within a few seconds, she was gone, leaving the two swordsmen to their own devices.

After some time spent staring at the stairwell, Lloyd suggested, "Well, let's get this over with." He turned towards the stairs, peaking down into the rooms below. There was some light, although it was extremely dim. With a shrug, he went on down. He didn't take the time to argue with the redhead. He knew that Zelos would have to cave if he didn't want to be alone.

Zelos was tentative to follow him downstairs. His nerves were on edge. There was a disturbing smell like vinegar mixed with iron reeking from down there. He gave the elevator shaft a glance, wondering if he should have followed the ninja instead.

The situation was no better once he reached the bottom floor. The air smelt worse, vinegar giving away to something that stuck in the back of his sinuses. It was thick, almost giving the air a coppery taste. He covered his mouth and nose, hoping it would be enough to shake off that smell. Lloyd looked equally disgusted, but he made no attempt to block it out. He was more concerned with his surroundings.

"You know, we could still wait for the girls to get done upstairs," Zelos muttered through his hands.

Lloyd nodded, but blew him off. "Whatever's down here is pretty strong."

Zelos wrinkled his nose. "I don't think Regal would have let it get this bad."

"Yeah," Lloyd replied after a moment, but it seemed too short and awkward for the talkative boy. The redhead noticed a slight frown in the boy's expression. He looked like he was chilled, his skin gleaming slightly. He shivered once and collapsed to his knees.

Zelos knelt down next to him, trying to pull Lloyd back up. "Easy there, Bud."

The boy's body stayed locked in place, almost like he was frozen. He gritted his teeth, fingers digging into the floors. Lloyd hissed, breath too shallow to make out sentences. Zelos braced the swordsman, hoping he wouldn't start convulsing. His arms felt like marble, too solid to be flesh. It was like the morning again, sitting next to another friend getting sick.

There was a gasp of pain, and Lloyd snapped out of it. He grabbed his left hand, massaging the skin around his exsphere. He pulled his glove back, revealing red burns around the stone. Zelos took the boy's hand and channeled a spell through it, hoping that would patch it up. A white aura buzzed around his hand, then faded away. The skin was still a little red, but the pain in the body's hand was gone.

"Are you okay?" Zelos asked.

Lloyd was slow to respond, but nodded. "Yeah." He smiled, despite the situation. Getting back up on his feet was a task. With a small wobble, he stood up. He rubbed his left hand again, "That was strange."

Zelos hopped back up, confused about the sudden illness. He scratched at his scalp, "Sheena got sick earlier today, too. Come to think of it, I got sick yesterday."

"Weird. I didn't think there would be a bug going around this time of year," Lloyd thought. He crossed his arms, "Well, now's not the time to worry about it. Let's check this place out, and then we can go back up." As he continued leading the way, Zelos couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the boy's motivation. It wouldn't last very long, but it was usually enough to get the job done.

It got very dark as they progressed towards the center of the basement. At first glance, it seemed like no one had been down here for days. They peeked through a few doors, but saw only file cabinets and broken furniture. It was like a forgotten storage space. That image permeated the basement for some time, only giving way when the two swordsmen found a door left open. There they found the worst signs of decay.

There was a strange fluid that leaked from the sealed doorway in the back of the room. It was black and slick like oil, but thick and congealed around the edges. The liquid had been there for some time. It stained the metallic vault door, leaving coppery, greasy streaks. Growths bloomed out of ducts in the top of the walls, trailing down like trumpet vines. Their orange, narrow shapes seemed like an infection. It smelt horrible, like a roasting morgue. Something had been dead down here for some time.

Lloyd covered his face, trying to keep that smell out of his nose. "What is that?"

"I don't know," the redhead responded. His voice trembled a little bit, "I've heard of skeletons in the closet, but..."

"Come on, Zelos. This looks serious," Lloyd pulled a face. "We might be on to something."

Zelos nodded. "That's what I'm worried about."

There was a gurgling noise that came from the back. It was like a dying moan, half caught in the throat of a zombie. The vines shook to life, wheezing in and out as though they were breathing. The liquid pool on the floor began flowing, oozing out towards the duo like watery fingers. Zelos backed away, barely keeping himself from bolting. Something was awake. He knew what it was.

"Oh, hell no," he groaned.

Both men backed away from the sealed door at the end of the room. The lock on the door shuddered, metal bending around the strength of an attack. Bloody gunk oozed out once more, and then something slammed against the door again. It was trying to get out with all of its might, but it could do little more than hammer against the metal. That didn't stop the creature inside from hissing.

"Wilder..."

It was now Lloyd's turn to start getting edgy. "Wha-What is that?"

Zelos could hardly spit the words out. His throat rattled with a dry rage. "It's what I was talking about earlier, Lloyd. The monster."

The dark voice was amused by his distraught behavior. "Monster?" It gargled, a strange sound like a muck pit laughing. "Isn't there…a better name …than monster?"

Lloyd chuckled out of nerves. "This would be a good place for me to do the whole 'Give me your name' speech, wouldn't it?"

"Boy..." The monster's voice dragged on for a moment. It gurgled and popped, like a great sigh. The growths on the sides of the walls shuddered as it sucked in air. "He thought about you, boy...so sad. So desperate!" It spat out the last word, giving it a sharp accent. The word struck Lloyd like a spear.

Zelos gritted his teeth, hissing questions through them. "How long have you been here? What have you done?" He paused, then asked a more perplexing question. "Why do you sound different?"

The monster chuckled, its laughter rolling like waves of thick gelatin. Congealed gunk spilled through the door again. "Days. Trapped in the door...too tight. Too small." It squelched as it shifted its entire mass. "But...they were so rich...full of blood and flesh."

Both Lloyd and Zelos cringed. The younger of the two felt his throat catch. He never expected anything like this. As far as dealing with monsters went, Lloyd was an expert. He'd cut a swath through the entire planet with all of the fights he'd been in. This monster was different. It was too calculating to be a mindless carnivore, but it wasn't nearly lingual enough to be something that possessed even roughly the same intelligence as a human. It was nebulous, and that horrified him.

"That's impossible. I fought you last night," Zelos growled.

The monster made a squelching noise that sounded like an aggravated sigh. "We parted, they and we. His orders. There aren't many exspheres here…"

Zelos lowered his eyebrows. "You split from yourself? There's two of you now?"

"Not for long..." The monster sighed again. "We need humans, exspheres...Need to be one. We need..."

The tide swelled inside the room, the hinges buckling under its force. Lloyd placed his hands on the swords around his hips. Zelos didn't reach for his weapon. He signaled for Lloyd to cool it. The swordsman frowned, but let go of his swords. He didn't like what Zelos was up to. He just wanted it dead. The way it spoke about others terrified him.

There was a slapping sound, and laughter rolled out behind the metallic door. "So much loneliness..." It made an abrupt pop, shaking the walls with its chuckling. "But he refuses! Does not give in. Does not give us his throat…his eyes…Makes us sick!" It spat out the last word with splattered vehemence. The growths inside the ducts swelled, making a wheezing gulp. It sounded like a deflated balloon coming back to life.

"How many did you kill? And you want to keep killing?" Lloyd questioned softly, almost at the level of a whisper. His throat was still tight, and he couldn't speak as loudly as he would have liked. "What justifies something like this?"

His accusation echoed in the basement. The world stilled, save for the continuous squashing noses that the monster made. It slowed, almost like it was thinking about what Lloyd said. The flowering growths slowed too, going several seconds without another gasp. Lloyd's heart began racing. He grabbed onto his hilts again, this time not taking them back off. Screw Zelos's warning. He wasn't going to get caught with his guard down.

There was a low rumble that started from the bottom of the floor. Zelos jumped backwards, wondering what was happening. It sounded like the floor was groaning, ready to give away to an earthquake. The rumbling travelled up the walls and blew out in explosive laughter. Lloyd had done little to dissuade the monster. It cackled at him, bubbles of toxic humor splattering against the walls.

"He heard you! He heard you!" The monster exclaimed with a chilling level of clarity. "Lloyd Irving! The boy who saved the world! The boy who saved his friends! He has come back!"

Lloyd's skin prickled. Anger billowed like fire in his lungs. "Don't mock me!"

The monster continued taunting the younger swordsman. "Would you wait for us to die here, Lloyd Irving? We guarantee that his heart would stop beating long before we perished!" It roared and squirmed, like soft candy roasting in an open fire. "His exsphere…burns!"

The creature thrashed against the front of the vault, a jack-hammering sound that rang through the entire building. Both swordsmen jumped away from the wall, Zelos finally arming himself. It continued smashing itself against the vault's door, the hinges and bolts popping as it went on. They were unsure whether to stay or run. It could have been a bluff. But, it sounded so clear.

"Let us out! Let us out!" The monster wailed. Its voices were wild, varied, not of one mind. Between every plea, there was another crunching noise against the wall. It sounded like a bag of jam and glass being slammed into a slab of iron.

Zelos was ready to bolt. "Okay, no more talking. Let's grab the hunnies and get out of here!"

Both shuddered as the creature banged into the doorway. "Let us out!"

Lloyd was hesitant. "We've got to kill it before it gets out of here! I'm not letting more people die!"

"What, do you have a couple hundred pounds of dynamite on you or something?" Zelos snarled. "We won't stand a chance!"

There was a new horrifying noise added to the din. It was like the pealing sound of chicken extremities being pulled from its corpse. It started soft with the sound of sinew snapping, then cracked like joints being yanked apart. The flower-like growths ripped, wilting out of their niches. A maroon-colored liquid gushed out after the growths were gone. It was like the walls were bleeding.

"Why did you come, Lloyd Irving? Why?" The monster screamed at the young boy. It didn't allow him to answer. "Did you want to save them all, Lloyd Irving? Did you want to be the hero again?" It hissed like a volcano about to explode. "Then save us from his blood!"

The room detonated in a mass of red gelatin and decaying matter.

/***/

Author's Note:

My previous note for this chapter was that it was based on a nightmare. No kidding…

I also had a lot of notes about the lower floors of the Lezareno buildings being carpeted. Guess I got jossed on that one.


	7. Chapter 7

"There's nothing here, is there?"

Colette's question broke the permeating silence in the president's office. The two had little to talk about before, both disgusted and frightened by the look of the upper floors. The windows were smeared with a ruddy glaze, like bloody snot. The elevator shafts were thick with it too—some of it was now on their clothes. There were no signs of activity otherwise. It used to be so clean, papers stacked neatly on the edge of the desk and books piled and placed in proper order. It looked like the aftermath of a grungy, shaken snow globe.

"Nope," Sheena agreed. She flipped open the top drawer on the president's desk. There were common little supplies, pens and paper pads all in their proper places. She shut it, and went to the next drawer. Bingo. She picked up an older book, the cover stylized in Mizuho font. It was about time she got this back to her village—that stupid shopkeeper almost cost them their security. Not that she didn't trust Regal, but she'd rather keep Mizuho's codes and language confidential. She shoved the small book into a pocket in her robe and hopped off the desk.

Colette sighed, and then fussed with her hair. "I hope Lloyd and Zelos didn't find anything, either."

Sheena chuckled. "Well, we've got to figure out what happened. It's not like we can come away empty handed."

"I know," Colette agreed, "But I just don't want them to get into trou—"

There was a rumble as foundation of the business office shuddered. A green lamp on the desk fell off and shattered. Both girls glanced at the elevator shaft, wondering what was going on. A heavy scraping noise moved swiftly at the bottom. The grating sound shrieked on metallic surfaces. It sounded like it was moving towards them. A blip of darkness ebbed at the bottom of the shaft, moving like an unbridled nightmare.

"Hide!" Sheena hissed at the blonde. The younger of the two dove towards a nearby bookcase, crouching down between the corner and the opening. The ninja shoved a fake potted plant next to the blonde, and then dropped to her knees. She rolled under a nearby sofa, pulling herself up into the springs. She waited as the sound rolled upwards, changing tone as it hit tiled floor.

Then it began to move away.

Sheena was unwilling to budge for a few more seconds. Splashes echoed from the lobby as something thick hit the surface of the watery track. It sounded like tons of potatoes being dumped off a ship. Waves rocked for a few more moments, and then it was silent. She let go of the couch's coils, but didn't move from beneath it. She had to give it a few more minutes. It could be a trap.

After a few moments, Colette peeked out from behind the plant. "Is it okay?"

"Probably not," Sheena remained pessimistic. She sighed, and decided to go against her instincts. "Let's go."

The ninja tumbled from beneath the couch, dusting the lint off of her shirt. Colette moved out of her hiding place, but not before tripping over the plant. It crashed to the ground, ceramic pot shattering into hundreds of smooth, white pieces. She fretted, pushing the plant up against the wall and trying to mound dirt around it as best as she could. Despite the nerve-wracking situation, Sheena had to laugh a little.

"Don't worry about it. This place could afford to replace a few plants," the ninja helped the blonde get back on track.

Colette nodded, "I know. It's just not right."

The ninja couldn't believe how Colette's perspective could be so thrown off. "We've got a bunch of people missing—probably dead—and you're worried about a potted plant."

"It's a living thing, too," Colette argued.

Sheena decided to drop the subject. "We should go make sure those idiots are okay."

The blonde girl finally agreed with her. She took the first peek down the elevator shaft. After not seeing anything, she hopped into it. With a quick flash of pink mana, bright wings shot out of her back. She descended to the lobby, and then glanced back up towards the ninja. "All clear so far!"

The ninja smacked her palm onto her face. Colette didn't have the same refinement or sense of stealth as she did. The ninja gathered her strength, then jumped into the elevator shaft. She caught onto the slick cable in the center and eased herself down. It was a faster trip down than it was up. She slid to Colette's level, and then grabbed tighter on the cable. The lobby was still in the same mess as it was before, so she saw no need to stay there very long.

"Okay. I'm going down," Sheena said. She slackened her hold, travelling all the way down to the end of the cable. It ended in a frayed mess a few feet above the elevator car itself. The car was compressed like a crushed sardine tin. Fresh slime coated the top, a couple of centimeters thick and black like blood pudding. She jumped onto it, slipping from the ooze.

Colette hopped down next to her, brilliant wings disappearing as she landed just beyond the destroyed car. The shining floors were streaked with the mess, covering the entire hallways and clambering up the sides of the walls. It smelt awful, like copper and rotting flesh. She nearly gagged on the scent, but buried her nose in her hands. The electric smell of fresh mana from her body kept her from smelling that stench.

Sheena wrinkled her nose at the scene. "Oh, geez."

"Lloyd? Zelos?" Colette called through her hands. She waited for a few seconds, and then sighed. "I can't hear them."

Sheena grimaced. She took lead, footsteps slow but sure. She hugged the corner of the hall, signaling for Colette to follow her. The blonde tried to hide in a similar way, but she wasn't nearly as coordinated as Sheena. As she followed her around the corner, she slipped on the ooze and crashed on the ground.

The ninja winced but helped the blonde back up. They continued to follow the dark smears, ignoring the clean hallways that they crossed. The basement of the Lezareno Company was more of a labyrinth than the ninja expected. If it wasn't for the mess along the way, she could have gotten lost. She hated to think of the gore as a trail-marker, but she was trained to take any clues she could get and use them for her advantage.

The gross trail blew out of proportion as they rounded one final passage. Something blasted its way out of a smaller room, blood and grime radiating out in a bursting pattern. It was like the room was disemboweled. Flower-like growths that dangled out of ducts in the ceiling were crumpled, crusted and choked with slime. A metallic door lay in huge chunks on the floor, split by some impressive force. It was impossible to guess what the room used to be. Now, it was like the desecrated birthplace of a demon.

Colette's breath caught. "Wha—what happened?"

Sheena shook her head. "It must have been here."

A gentle thump caught her off guard. One of the pieces of the door moved upwards. Colette jumped backwards, preparing to bolt. The ninja drew her seals, hoping it wasn't a monster. The door flew to the left, and a gore-drenched redhead stood up. He gasped for breath, coughing from the horrible smell. It was all he could do to get his face clean.

"My hunnies. Excellent timing," Zelos coughed. "You would not believe what happened."

Sheena lowered her eyebrows, "I hate to admit this, but I'm willing to give it a shot."

Colette interrupted, "Wait! Where's Lloyd!"

There was a muffled sound, and then another chunk of door was tossed aside. Lloyd cleared his lungs, and then shook off his shock. Colette helped him, grabbing him by the shoulders and hefting him up. She hugged him, glad to see him alive. After all the mess, it was comforting to be with her best friend again.

"What was that about?" Lloyd rubbed his head. "Ugh, I feel like the professor just destroyed my skull."

Zelos rattled off information as fast as he could. "The monster was here. It killed a lot of people, but it was talking about somebody not dying." He took a quick gulp of air, "It was sick, and then it wasn't sick, and then...well, wham!"

Sheena was disgusted. "You've got to be kidding me! That monster was here?"

"Well, kind of. Seems like it can split itself up into—" Zelos began, but he stopped himself. "It knew Lloyd. Kept calling him by his full name."

"Ooh! Sounds terrifying!" Colette shuddered. "Did you meet it before?"

Lloyd shook his head. "I think I would have remembered something like that."

"No crap," Zelos spat. He started pacing around the outside of the door, "Can't believe it didn't try to kill us again. What is up with that thing?"

Colette interjected, "The room's glowing."

Zelos rambled on. "Said something about a burning exsphere. I wonder what that's all about."

Sheena thumped Zelos in the chest, "Shut up! What is that?"

The redhead caught onto what both girls saw. Peeking into the smaller room behind them, they saw little flares of light. It looked like tiny will o' the wisps, all glowing pastel colors. The faint embers illuminated a scene of horror. Strands like pumpkin guts hung from the ceiling in thick, garnet clusters. They were all severed at random intervals, torn away by a huge force. The lights beamed from inside these strands, giving them an eerie transparency.

For a rare moment, the redhead was completely silent.

"Exspheres," Lloyd murmured. He was the first to step inside the room, going towards the nearest light. His fingers dug into the sinews and popped out a stone like a pearl from a mollusk. It was hot with energy at first, but it dissipated and froze in his hand. He sighed, then crushed the stone. It was one less exsphere he had to find.

Reluctantly, the others followed him in. Zelos swatted the strands away from his face, getting slimed in the process. It smelt the worst in here. That beast had sat here for days, rotting people into goo and devouring them. A small bone dangled nearby, something dainty like a bone from a pinky. He gritted his teeth as his stomach churned, appalled by the scene. How many had died and festered here?

A gurgle stopped Colette. She turned her head to the left, then gagged. A hot pain radiated from her chest. She covered her face, sinking into the muck. Gloved hands wrapped around her shoulders. Heat from the gore around her spread through her knees. The rest of her went cold. Memories of empty, eternal nights in the barren fields of Sylvarant plagued her as she shook. She was familiar with this sickness—an illness that came from her Cruxis Crystal.

"Colette?" Lloyd's voice pierced through the humid fog in her brain. "What's wrong?"

Footsteps squashed behind them as Zelos approached the duo. "Her too, huh? She'll be okay in a second, Lloyd."

Colette shook her head. The fever passed, but not her horror. She raised her shaking hand, pointing to the gore in the corner of the room. "There."

Sheena, Zelos, and Lloyd snapped their attention towards the back of the vault. Layers of thick crimson tissue snarled together, a bulging, massive tumor dangling forlornly in the midst of broken webs and skin. Others hung next to it, torn open and frayed. A light burned from inside the clot, a solitary flare of color glowing like embers. Zelos pushed his way towards the structure, trying to figure out what it was.

It wasn't entirely encompassing. The growths relaxed in places, thinning out and revealing tattered cloth. Tufts of hair peaked out. Zelos hesitated for a second, and then reached for one wayward strand. The hair looked black in the faint light. He pressed his fingers together and stripped the slime away. There was a jolt in his heart and gut as a horrifying conclusion sank into his brain.

The hair in his hand went from black to blue.

/***/

For the first time in her life, Princess Hilda was considering what it was like to die.

The monster had let her go from its body, at least for the time being. It hadn't left her alone—it just wanted her out for a little while. It had mentioned something about returning to itself, but she didn't quite understand what that meant. Maybe it was talking about that part of its body that left a few days ago. Her memories were starting to run together. She just didn't care anymore. She felt ill.

The princess wondered why she was feeling so terrible. Her best guess was dehydration. Most of her time lately was trapped in the still-forming body of the monster. It hadn't changed all that much lately, dry bones and stale air her only protection against the digestive enzymes running throughout the creature's tissues. Since last night, it was slow to move. Sometimes, the monster would strike out at rats and devour them, but it didn't want to do anything. It was like a reptile waiting to shed, slow and silent.

"Are you sick?" the princess gathered enough courage to talk with the blob.

The monster's words drooled through her mind. "Must wait. Must be patient."

Hilda shook her head. "For what?"

"For the catch. The sun." It cackled on its last wheeze. "For your help."

"Haven't you had enough?" Guilt overcame the princess. "Those lives…the people you've killed…it's my fault. I won't help you take anymore."

Bubbling came from the man-eater's sides. "What choice…do you have?"

Her knees felt weak. This captivity was too much to bear. She collapsed on her hands, the back of her mouth aching like she was going to heave. Her dehydration was starting to get to her again. She felt so powerless, a sensation that was foreign and terrifying.

It didn't matter if she lived or died anymore. What meaning did her life have down here? That brute just wanted information from her. She wasn't much better than a tool, a discarded book with torn, tattered pages.

The thought made her want to perish.

/***/

It felt like someone had ripped out his lungs.

He collapsed to his knees, shivering with nausea and shock. Fluid alien to his body poured from his mouth. Rattling breaths were followed by long, wet coughs. He clenched his fists. His legs folded beneath his stomach. There was only warmth on his spine as a hand rubbed against his shoulders. He didn't dare look up. Not until he regained his composure.

Bare fingertips brushed back his marred bangs. Fresh scents managed to pass through his clogged nose. Earth. Incense. Flowers…lilies, perhaps. He couldn't resolve the smells into one person. He swallowed his pride, then looked up.

Four terrified friends were staring at him.

It was difficult for Regal to speak. His throat cracked even at an utterance. They saw him laid low, ground into nothing. For someone with such intimidating physical presence, he must have seemed broken. They struggled to talk, too. The moment was raw, red, throbbing with pain.

Scarlet hands took his left wrist. Lloyd checked for Regal's exsphere. He wiped rusty gunk away, glancing over the set gemstone and intricately carved crest. The skin around it was inflamed, but the stone itself was free from growths. "It looks like that thing didn't harm his exsphere. The key crest is intact, too."

"I never even thought about that being a problem!" Sheena exclaimed. "Geez, I suppose if it took every other exsphere—"

Regal interrupted her thoughts, his voice struggling to become clear, "What?"

"Suppose we'd better fill the big guy in," Zelos said. He crouched down, careful not to sink his white pants into the muck. A vain attempt to keep clean, considering the gunk in his hair and across his shoulders. "You gonna be okay, Pops?"

"I…" Regal lowered his head, then nodded. "Please."

Zelos fussed with his gloves as he spoke. "A couple of days ago, this monster started attacking Meltokio. It's obsessed with finding exspheres, though hell if I know why. It…it's a man-eater. I'm guessing it came out here to find…well, you know. Exspheres."

"Obvi—" Regal began. He went into another fit of coughing, his head reeling with feverish heat. Any apprehension Zelos had for getting dirtier disappeared. He put a hand on Regal's right shoulder, supporting him as his friend finished clearing his lungs.

Small feet scuttled by the duo. Colette clasped her hands together, her white sleeves stained. "We've got to get him to a doctor!"

Lloyd was just as worried. "Or find Professor Sage."

"We don't have a lot of time left," Sheena protested. "I—I know he's in bad shape, but if we don't get back to Meltokio before sunset—"

Zelos' face blanched. "Crap! The king will have my head!" In a moment of uncharacteristic indecisiveness, he glanced back down. "But we can't—ah, dammit."

"The king?" Confusion perked Regal's attention.

"Ah, yeah. Forgot to tell you." Zelos murmured. He pulled his gunky hand back, resting it against his forehead. "When it first attacked, it was during Princess Hilda's birthday party. She hasn't been seen since then."

Regal nodded. "His Highness must be devastated."

"Manic, more like it!" Sheena shouted. Regal flinched as she exploded with rage. "He keeps threatening Zelos to get this figured out! Like it's his fault that she disappeared! Hell, we could hardly get him to let Zelos leave for a day to hunt down Presea!"

"Presea?" Regal's resolve drained, his expression collapsing. "Please…no."

Colette jumped into the conversation. "No, it's not like that! She's okay. Probably."

"From what Zelos and Sheena were telling us, it sounds like that monster knows about her. It just doesn't know where she is," Lloyd clarified. "Say, do you know where she could have gone? She wasn't at home when Zelos went to find her."

Shaking his head, Regal pursed his lips. He sat on his haunches as he processed the deluge of information. His brain burned trying to make sense of it all. This monster—this thing that had devoured his employees—it knew about exspheres. Of Altamira. Presea. It had travelled so far just to find these things. How could something move so fast, outside of riding machinery?

Regal asked. "What direction did it head?"

Lloyd gave a tired sigh. "No idea. Could have gone anywhere by now."

"…Anywhere," Regal echoed flatly.

Trained grace and poise got Regal to his feet. His body was unaccustomed to the stillness of the air. He drew in a breath, then regained his composure. There was no time to waste on one sick man. Not when other lives were at stake.

"Easy, old man. Don't break a hip," Zelos teased. "Where are you going?"

Regal struggled to feign a smile. "You have…a deadline to keep…do you not?"

Zelos scrunched his face, crinkling his nose. "Yeah, well. I guess. But—"

"So, let us keep it," Regal replied.

His vain attempt at regaining his dignity slipped away with his left foot. Lloyd braced the determined duke, pulling him upright once more. Colette pushed against his right side, joining Lloyd in whatever he did. There was a small contraction of Regal's chest, suppressed joy and wounded ego. Sheena shook her head, but raised her hand towards the vault's exit. Both she and Zelos fell behind the limping trio, the duo sharing a forlorn grin, a pain in their hearts aching like shards of glass.

They were a sad, messy procession marching out of a fetid sea.

/***/

Author's Note:

The third part of this chapter is radically different from before. Previously, Regal served a more passive role until…well, future trouble spoilers. Upon reviewing this, I decided that was a bit out of character. So I tried to write something a little more active.


	8. Chapter 8

Flies circled their heads as the troop limped into Meltokio. No one else dared approach them as they passed through the front gates, the last orange rays of the sun on their backs. Even Zelos' warm smile did nothing to calm the wary crowds passing through town. Hard to blame them, though. The three men were drenched with dried ooze, stiff and sticky in the heat. They smelt like an animal gutted and left in the open air to dry out. Colette and Sheena were hardly better, gunk on their sleeves and foreheads.

"So, where are we going? The castle, or your house?" Lloyd asked. He laughed. "I mean, I know we've gone straight from the coliseum to the castle before, but we've never been this gross."

"We have graver issues than our cleanliness to worry about," Regal huffed.

Zelos shot a dirty look at the confused duke. He yanked off his left glove, then felt his companion's forehead. "Man, you are running a nasty fever. No wonder you're saying crazy things."

Sheena gave a nervous chuckle. "We might as well get it over with, right?"

"I'm covered in what I can only imagine used to be a class of accounting students from Sybak, and you want to go nudge elbows with royalty?" Zelos whined. "Why don't I get drunk and pass out in his garden while I'm at it?"

Lloyd found himself snickering at Zelos' discomfort. "Ah, c'mon. The king can't possibly get any more mad at you than he already is, right?"

Zelos narrowed his eyes. "You know, if I wasn't going to get my head chopped off for leaving, I would take you to Flanoir right now and drop—"

"—into town to buy chocolate?" Colette asked. "They have the cutest little heart-shaped boxes. Lloyd got me some as a present last year, and—"

"I don't think Zelos is the kind of guy who buys chocolate for other guys," Sheena tried to stem off Colette's ramblings.

The blonde Chosen was disappointed. "Ah, that's too bad. They make a really good present!"

Zelos and Sheena placed their hands on the foreheads. Colette was a sweet girl, but didn't always know where to stop. With Lloyd at her side, just as eager, the duo could mindlessly plow through any nonsense. Regal stared at her, eyelids almost closed together. He didn't have the fortitude to fight her wild stream of thoughts.

"Come," he nodded towards the castle. "It won't be long."

Zelos' protests fell on deaf ears. Colette and Lloyd followed his footsteps, completely unashamed of their appearance. Sheena sighed, then nudged Zelos towards the front door of the castle. If one noble wasn't concerned about how he looked, then she wasn't going to fret, either. At least, not today. Zelos shook his head, then hopped alongside Sheena.

Lloyd was right, after all—there was little he could do to make the king loathe him more.

The quintet was held in the front entrance hall while the king was summoned. It was probably for the best that they stayed put. Less work for the maids. Lloyd and Colette were whispering to each other, bantering about their wild change in plans for today. Regal held his stance, eyes closed, smiling each time he heard something absurd. Sheena giggled once, then nudged Zelos in the ribs. Even the wound-up Chosen finally had to relax. He smirked, then reached around her back, resting his left hand on her hip. She shook her head, but didn't swat his hand away. Right now, he needed a little quiet affection.

Guards fell to their knees as the king was brought to the front door. Sheena was quick to bow, Regal dropping onto his left knee. Zelos lowered his head, but didn't fall so far. He grinned at Colette's curtsy. Always a cutie, that girl. Lloyd didn't pick up on what they were doing for half a second. He gave an awkward half-bow, then snapped upright.

"Chosen," the king addressed Zelos. "You have kept your word. However, it doesn't seem that you found the girl."

Zelos smiled. He drew himself up, then tried to let his failure roll away. "Turns out she's on vacation. No idea where she went."

"That is unfortunate." The king paused, clearing his throat before speaking again. "Perhaps you would like to explain your current conditions. Your physical status is…repulsive."

Zelos raised his hands. "Totally Regal's fault."

The king leaned down, observing the figure at his feet. "Duke Bryant, you are permitted to stand."

"If it would not be an offense, Your Highness…" Regal's face blanched. "I may have overestimated my stamina."

"Now, see? I told you! You're in no condition for this!" Zelos grumbled.

Sheena took up Regal's defense. She kept a hand on his shoulder as she spoke. "We got wind from Lloyd and Colette about some missing exspheres. When we went to investigate that situation at Lezareno's headquarters, we found Altamira completely deserted. Well, save for the big guy, here."

"That monster thing was in their basement!" Colette exclaimed. She let her mouth run faster than her brain, her fists balled up. "Or, at least, half of it! Lloyd and Zelos were in the basement, and it was talking weird things about exspheres and eating people, and wham! It totally attacked them! But then it ran away and it left Regal and it didn't eat him for some reason, which is weird when you think about it because he's—"

"Colette, please," Sheena begged. "Could you calm down a little bit?"

It took the daft Chosen a few seconds to put the brakes on her mouth. "—and he's definitely the best cook out of anybody I know, so—oh. Sorry."

Silence stole the moment. Zelos fidgeted, wondering what the king was thinking. His eyes could hardly keep straight. He looked up and down their clothing, lips pulled back and nose crinkled. He couldn't stand looking Zelos in the eye. He stared at the top of Regal's bowed head, clotted blood staining his mind.

The group jolted as the king offered a hand to his dirtied guest. He knelt down, bringing Regal upright. "You are a fortunate man, Duke Bryant."

Regal lowered his head. "It is only because of my companions that I have such luck."

The king nodded, slow and heavy with his movements. Lloyd hesitated, then extended his hand. Both he and the king shook as Lloyd spoke. "Zelos has told us everything about what Meltokio's gone through. We're so sorry."

"Such inflictions have only been compounded by Altamira's wounds." The king held onto the dark thought, then addressed Lloyd and Colette. "I trust that I will have your assistance?"

Colette bounced into the conversation once more. "Of course! Absolutely! One hundred—no, two hundred percent!"

Zelos shook his head. "Colette, that's not—ah, forget it."

There was a sharp clack as the king turned his attention to Zelos. The Chosen flinched, unsure of what was happening. He relaxed as the king addressed him. "Zelos…you have done well bringing these people here. How could I not trust you?"

Lloyd shrugged. "To be fair, he is kind of shady."

"And he likes to gamble," Colette added.

"Not to mention how perverted he is," Sheena muttered.

Regal shook his head, "Nor did he meet his objective."

Zelos threw his hands up. "You guys done?"

The king slammed his staff down again. Zelos winced, then turned his attention back. His Royal Highness kept his orders short. "Continue your vigilance and investigation, Chosen. Find your friend, and save…" The words became bitter on his tongue. "Save what little of us is left."

Both Sheena and Zelos lifted their heads. How strange the king seemed. Before, it had always been about his daughter. Now, he didn't even mention her name. The range had become broader, the concerns wider. A father and a ruler fought for days in the king's eyes, but the loser was now apparent. They had grown dark, fixed on the blotches. He glanced down once at his hand. The stains there became heavy, unbearable—indelible.

The king's face went cold as stone, morphed with dread as the father's pleas within him went silent. This was no longer just about finding his little girl anymore.

/***/

For the first time in ages, Zelos felt like his mansion was not large enough.

It didn't help that there were five gore-splattered people standing at his front door. He knew two of his front bathrooms were in working order. Another was always on standby for emergency use. There was probably another couple in the north wing, though he hadn't been up that way in ages. Passing by his father and mother's bedroom always left him with a dragging sense of emptiness. But, maybe they were in order. If nothing else, he was sure he had a washtub in the basement large enough for one of them.

Maybe Sheena. On the front lawn. He grinned. Wouldn't that just make the neighbors jealous?

"You're thinking about something gross, aren't you?" Sheena interrupted his fantasies.

Zelos rubbed his head, squinting as he hit a sticky spot. "Just trying to figure out where the nearest bathrooms are. Don't want you all making too many messes for Sebastian."

"Sure," Sheena replied, no belief in her voice. She tugged on the straps alongside her boots, then slipped them off. She plopped them next to his front door. Her socks weren't much cleaner, so they went too. As soon as she was on bare feet, she stood up, then shot Zelos a look. "You gonna open the door sometime today?"

"Yeah. Sure. Just thinking you had a good idea is all," Zelos murmured.

He unlocked the front door as the rest of his friends took off their shoes. With two quick kicks, he set his aside. It was dark in the main parlor, but a salty scent was in the air. Cheese, rice—

risotto. His stomach grumbled. He had gone nearly all day without eating. He held his gut, then smiled. At least Sebastian had the house under control.

"Yo, Sebastian! I'm home!" Zelos called into the house. "And I've got some guests, too!"

"I know, sir!" came a call from the kitchen.

Colette was the first to sneak into the house. Her feet were clean. Zelos grinned, knowing he never had to worry about Colette. Even if she made a mess, it usually worked out in his favor. He stood out of the doorway, ushering the others in. When they were inside, he closed and locked the front door. Finally, he felt safe. His happiness diminished somewhat when he found light stains on his floor. That couldn't be helped. Even the grass outside could only clean off so much.

"How much time have we got?" Zelos asked his servant.

"Half an hour minimum, sir," was the reply. "The flan hasn't quite finished cooling yet."

Zelos clapped his hands together. "Sebastian, you are a peach. Don't ever forget that!"

That left plenty of time to get everyone else settled. He turned first to Lloyd and Colette. "Okay, my buds. Second bedroom upstairs is open. Colette, if you're not comfortable rooming with Lloyd, then you go hop into Sheena's room. That'll be the first door. First bathroom's in the middle of the hall on the opposite side, past your rooms. Can't miss it!"

Colette was ecstatic. She grabbed both her and Lloyd's bags, then zipped upstairs. "Wow! You've redecorated!"

"I know! Got rid of the stupid wallpaper!" Zelos yelled after her. He smirked at Lloyd, then swatted at his back. "Well, what are you waiting for? You're a hot mess, so go fix that."

"I can always count on you for your hospitality," Lloyd grunted.

The insult bounced off Zelos. He swiveled to his left, nearly hitting Regal. "Whoa, pops. Sorry there. Look, there's another bathroom past the kitchen. Half shower, half bath. Good for a long soak. Just take your time."

Regal didn't speak. He lowered his head once, then grasped Zelos on the shoulder. Zelos studied him, wondering what was going through his head. He frowned, but patted back. That seemed to appease him. Zelos shook his head as Regal limped away. That reaction was eerie.

"Zelos?" Sheena asked.

"Ah! Sorry, hunny." Zelos snapped back to his old self. "Well, you probably have the blueprints to this place, right? I know you can find a tub around here."

Sheena shook her head, then cocked her hip to the left. "Have you even seen yourself?"

"Just because I'm disgusting doesn't mean I get first dibs," Zelos replied.

Sheena opened her mouth to argue with him, but let her anger pass. It was hard to be mad at him, especially when he was being selfless for once. "Okay. Another problem, then. Our clothes are a mess."

"Not a problem. I've got this cute laundry lady here. Single mom, sweet as can be. She'll have our clothes washed up in no time," Zelos beamed. He paused, letting missing information seep into his brain. "Of course, that requires you guys having other clothes around here to wear in the meantime."

"Uh huh," Sheena agreed.

"I know you had some extra clothes. Guessing Colette and Lloyd packed a few extra items," Zelos spilled his thoughts out loud. "Of course, they can fit into my wardrobe as well, but—" He scrunched up his eyes. "Crap. The ogre. Knew I forgot about someone."

"There you go. Knew you'd get what I was saying." Sheena tapped Zelos on the cheek, mocking his slowness. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up, then I'm hitting the town. Hoping I can find him something decent until we can get back to Altamira. Need anything while I'm out?"

Zelos shook his head. "I don't think there's alcohol strong enough to scrub out the images in my head." He snorted, then called after the escaping ninja. "Why don't you just swing by the castle again? Pretty sure they've still got his old prison uniform!"

"If I wouldn't wear it, it's not decent!" Sheena rejected his idea.

Crossing his arms, Zelos leaned against the back of his sofa. He grimaced, realizing his mistake. Thankfully, he left no stains. He soothed his wounded pride. Like Sheena knew anything about decency when it came to clothes. What kind of self-respecting ninja wore lilac and pink? Then again, it did take some skill to hide in something so pastel and bright. The bow was cute, too. Definitely a distraction. Not to mention her embonpoint, voluptuous—

"Aah! Close the door!" came a shriek from upstairs.

Zelos snapped upright. What was that about? His mind buzzed faster as he realized that scream didn't come from his companions. He rushed upstairs, pushing past a confused Lloyd. There was a light already on in his guest bathroom. Colette was standing there, befuddled. It was only after two rushes of water and a click at the bathroom door that anyone had a clue about the mysterious bathroom visitor.

The revelation made Zelos heartsick. "Seles."

"Brother," came his sister's short greeting. She glared at Colette, drying her hands clean with a fluffy towel. "Has no one ever told you to knock? And why do you both smell like a pig's bowels? What is—ugh, is that blood?"

Stammering to find an answer, all Zelos could find was fear. He'd had a lot to be frightened about over the past few days, but nothing quite as dreadful as this. He wanted to grab his sister and shake sense into her, but that would just leave gunk on her arms. He pulled his hands back, then pushed them through his hair.

"You really picked a bad time to visit, Sis," Zelos groaned.

Seles didn't buy his complaint. "You say that every time."

/***/

Author's Note:

Believe it or not, that was all new content!


	9. Chapter 9

Dinner became awkward fast.

There was little Lloyd could do to remedy the moods of the people now sitting around the table. Colette seemed so sullen, her hair heavy and flat from her bath. Seles wasn't much better, confused and frustrated with what little news she'd heard about her brother's antics over the past few days. Zelos was the biggest pain in the ass, though. It was clear that he was not happy to see his sister again. Of course, it didn't help that Tokunaga, Seles' aide, had decided to eat with Sebastian in the servants' quarters. Sheena was still out gathering supplies, her dinner going cold. Regal's meal was untouched. There was nobody to help smooth out their turmoil. The conversation was frigid, open and raw.

"So," Seles began, a snotty ring in her tone. "When were you planning on telling me about this—what kind of monster is it?"

Zelos grumbled, then made an obnoxious slurp. "Made of exspheres and bones. Eats people. Surrounded by a thick coat of goop."

His sister tapped her spoon against her dish. "Right." She looked towards Lloyd and Colette with sharp frustration, "Can either of you elaborate?"

"It's what he says," Lloyd replied. "Just this big, awful man-eater. I've never seen anything like it. Don't even know what to call it."

Colette jumped into the conversation. "I like Blobby. Blobby's a good name for it."

Lloyd's face screwed up in embarrassment. "You wouldn't be calling it that if you saw it face-to-face."

"Okay, getting away from the name game for a moment," Seles cut their conversation short. "From what I've heard, it attacked Meltokio and killed quite a few soldiers. There are also rumors that Princess Hilda disappeared at the same time it attacked. I'm guessing that's related."

Colette stirred her meal, flicking through its contents. Even if there weren't any peppers in it, she had to be wary. "It's also crazy about finding Presea."

Seles pursed her eyebrows. "That little pink-haired girl? Why?"

Zelos shrugged. He was beginning to lose his appetite. "We're not sure. There are a lot of things that just don't add up." What would it do to Presea if it found her? Would it kill her outright? Or, would she be kept alive, preserved like some canned vegetable, her exsphere burning through its body?

"By the way. Don't go into the west bathroom," Zelos added, shaking off his mental images.

Seles gave him another weird glance. "Just can't stay on the subject, can you, brother?"

Colette cleared her throat. "What are you all going to do now?"

"Well, we've still got to patrol tonight," Zelos sighed. "Give me a couple of hours of sleep, and I'll be ready to go."

Lloyd nodded, "Sure thing. I'm up for a little monster hunting."

"Now, that's what I like to hear, buddy," Zelos smiled. Lloyd felt a little panicked. The redhead's devious aura remained even in the face of death.

Seles nodded and crossed her arms. "Fine. I can go with you."

"No, no, no. You're not going with us," Zelos stressed his anxiety to his sister. "If you want to stay here? Fine. It's your home, too. But, there's no way I'm letting you get close to that thing. Got it?"

His sister was prepared to rip him a new one when there was a clatter at the front door. Sheena had returned, greeting the dinner guests with a hearty "I'm back!" She had two paper bags in her arms. The first was overflowing with bottles and small, round gels. The second had a soft bulge towards the bottom, cloth peeking out the top.

Seles raised her head. "Wow. Power shopper."

Sheena dropped the paper sacks next to the table, then sat down to her meal. "There's a lot of nervous people out there tonight. Tried to get what I could, but the stores are picked over."

Reaching towards the first bag, Zelos began checking the items. There certainly were enough bottles and gels. He pulled out a panacea bottle, then dropped it in the second bag. Those little potions were handy for cleaning up anything. Poison, paralysis, petrifaction—even mundane fevers. He pushed the bottle aside, looking at the clothes Sheena had purchased. Hardly fancy, but they would have to do.

"You know taupe's a fall color, right?" Zelos teased Sheena.

Sheena glared back at him. "I really wasn't worried about that, Zelos."

A sad smile escaped Zelos. There certainly were worse things out there. He stared down the hallway, then back into the bag. The dry scent caught him off-guard. It seemed so fresh compared to the stench that he and his friends had wallowed in over the past few days.

He plopped the sack into Lloyd's lap. "Hey, bud. Can you take care of this?"

"Yeah. Sure," Lloyd agreed. His chair squeaked as he got up.

Zelos smirked. He could always trust Lloyd to take care of the more difficult tasks. He leaned forward, then addressed Colette and Sheena. "So, ladies. What are you thinking? Want to go on a romantic stroll around Meltokio tonight?"

The two young women replied with a drawn out, "Actually…" Both laughed at the other, surprised that they synced up.

"Do you think you need someone to watch your sister tonight?" Sheena asked first.

Seles was offended. "I'm not a child!"

Zelos winced at Sheena's suggestion. "Ah, hunny. Your heart's definitely in the right place." He shrunk down as Seles swatted at him. "What? If you're serious about staying here, then I would feel better if one of my hunnies was protecting you."

Seles objected. "There's no way I'm letting that bimbo watch over me!"

"Bimbo?" Sheena growled.

Zelos whistled at both of them. That cut their argument short. "Hey, now. Let's play nice."

A question startled the group. "What if Colette stayed here instead?"

Zelos leaned his head back. Lloyd had returned from the bathroom. He plopped into his seat, then stirred his risotto. A tiny bit of film started to build on his spoon. Everyone waited for him to clarify his thoughts. "Well, if Seles doesn't like Sheena, then Colette would be a better person to watch over her, right?"

"Yeah," Colette laughed. It was an awkward, nervous chuckle. "About that…"

The entire table went on edge. There was nothing more concerning than when Colette was trying to make a plan. If it wasn't outright crazy, it was suicidal. Zelos surrendered the table to her. "It's a bit much to ask, isn't it? My sister can be a bit of a pill, and—"

"It's about Presea," Colette cut Zelos short.

A reasonable worry. She was in more danger than the rest of them. Zelos leaned forward, then put a hand on his head. She had to be warned. If she knew about how awful this monster was—if she knew what it had done to her friends—she would be livid and out for blood. He still couldn't resolve the sinking feeling in his stomach. How could he keep her safe from something like that?

"Someone's got to get a hold of her," Zelos agreed. "But, after today…"

Sheena was livid. She slammed her fist on the table. "Hey! Don't be getting cold feet. Not after what we had to pull to go look for her!"

Her fire fueled his frustration. "Oh, and what? Am I supposed to forget the afternoon I spent watching the strongest guy I know puke his guts out after I cut him out of rancid entrails? Should I pretend that didn't happen?"

Sheena stopped mid-thought. She knew that the Chosen was cowardly when it came to his former duties as a church icon, and she knew of times where he confessed to pledging loyalty only to the strongest in a fight, but this kind of fear from him was rare. It was a worry over someone else's loss. He could stand his own sacrifice and worthlessness, but not that of his family. Not of Seles. Not of his friends.

"I didn't know it messed you up like that," Sheena apologized.

He pressed his fingertips on the center of his brow. "I can't get the smell out of my head." He cringed behind his palms. "It's not even about Presea. She's a strong girl. I know she can fight. But, if that thing found Seles…and there's no way Hilda can still be alive. Even her father's given up."

Small hands took his fingers. Zelos looked up, surprised to find Colette's eyes behind his hands. "That doesn't mean you have to give up. Please, Zelos. You've done amazing things! I know you can fight this!"

"Ah, hunny. You put way too much faith in me," Zelos chuckled.

Lloyd shrugged. "You might be a two-timing pervert, but you can save pretty much any girl out there. If Presea did want to fight with us, I know you'd keep her safe."

"It's better to have that bumpkin with you than pretending she's safer on her own," Seles agreed. She pulled a face when all of Zelos' friend stared at her. "What? It's the truth!"

Sheena crossed her arms, then smirked. "You know we've got your back. Don't go around thinking this is just your fight. We're here for a reason, you idiot. We'll all protect her—and you."

"I really do feel loved," Zelos said. He chuckled, then made a face at Lloyd. "Not that I'm implying anything about you, dude."

Lloyd didn't seem offended. "I wasn't the one that was about to cry over another man."

Seles grumbled, then got Zelos and his stupid friends back on track. "Look, Colette. You wanted to go find Presea, right? I'm sure Zelos is willing to lend you that dumb Elemental Cargo. Will that be big enough for four people?"

"Four?" Colette echoed.

"Well, yeah. You, Presea, Raine, and Genis. If you're going to go find one of them, you might as well get all three," Seles stated. "I can hold down the fort here, in the meantime. I'm sure you haven't been taking care of anything around here, Zelos. Someone's got to make sure you've got a place to crash."

Zelos rubbed his right temple. "Right. But, who's going to watch over you? Unless you think a couple of butlers stand a chance against this monster."

Seles deflected his question with an inquiry to Lloyd. "Well? How's the west bathroom situation?"

Lloyd winced, then dropped his head. "I don't think Regal's going to be a lot of help tonight. He fell asleep in tub."

Zelos laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Long as his head's above water."

"Guess that means I've got no choice about who watches over me." Seles crossed her arms, then glared at Sheena. "You're just about as experienced as my brother is about fighting this monster. So, I guess you'll have to do."

"You really know how to make a person feel special," Sheena lied.

Convinced that she had solved the issue, Seles went back to her meal. "See? All sorted out. Go team."

At least someone was finally taking charge of the situation.

/***/

It was nearly ten before Zelos and Lloyd left the upper quarters. The elder of the two managed to sneak in a couple of hours of sleep before they had to go. To be honest, he could have used a few more, but he didn't dare risk any more time. The summer heat was sweeping upwards into the sky. There was a strange, empty feeling that weaved its way through his skin. The ocean smelt saltier that night, the air heavy. It felt like a storm was approaching.

"So, do you feel like sharing your master plan yet?" Lloyd asked.

Zelos smiled. "I bet you can already figure it out."

A cold wave of fear washed over Lloyd. "Oh boy."

"What we've got on our hands is a monster that can't come out when it's too hot and travels by water masses." Zelos started making his observations, ticking his fingers off as he made his points. "It's big. Very big. This isn't just something that can hide in an alleyway. It needs a big home, and it's got to be either in or around Meltokio."

Lloyd shook his head and sighed. "The sewers."

"Bingo. You're getting smarter, you know that?" Zelos tousled Lloyd's hair in approval.

The duo meandered through the traffic in the main square. It was much less crowded than the last few nights. People were starting to get the picture. A few bands of younger punks gave the two of them mean glances, but sulked off like wolves. Some were unwilling to just sit and be devoured—vigilante justice was their course. Zelos found their presence comforting, in an odd way. Maybe the town was better defended than he thought.

Lloyd glanced back towards the Martel cathedral. "How long are we going to search?"

"Until daybreak. We're going to cover the main passages. You know, the area I took you guys through," Zelos explained. He flipped his hair out of his face. "It may not show up there, so we might have to go to the king later and get a map of the entire system. It's most likely hiding in one of the older, abandoned parts."

Lloyd nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Right. The professor was telling me about them, once. She said that during some of the older wars people used to hide in there. She also said they used to bury bodies down there."

Zelos made a face of disgust. "Our lovely, beguiling Raine does have a strange fascination with dead things. Kind of unladylike, but that's what I like about her."

They passed by the closed item shop, rounding the corner to a manhole. Without pause, they went up to it and took a look. The cover was gone, and the metallic rim around it was smashed downwards. Parts of the pavement were blasted aside as well, all sunken in. Lloyd pressed a hand against the outer edge, dismayed to feel the brick beneath his hand give way and collapse into the damaged ladder below. That had to be some tremendous force.

Screwing up his courage, Lloyd leapt into the hole. He caught onto the ladder and climbed a few feet down until the entire thing gave way under his bodyweight. He landed onto the paved walkway below, sprawled out on his chest. He coughed, his breathing out of whack, but he'd managed not to break anything. A flash of orange mana appeared by his side. Zelos's rarely used wings disappeared into the darkness.

"We probably should have gone in through the front door, huh?" Zelos chuckled.

After catching his breath, Lloyd coughed. "Sure. Laugh it up."

The redhead offered the swordsman a hand. Lloyd took it, getting back up onto his feet once more. It was darker than he had anticipated. There were faint lights around the walkway. It reminded Lloyd of Mizuho at night, with faint stars lighting the town. He never remembered Iselia or even his father's house being dark as this, even out in the countryside. It was chilling.

Even in the dark, it was obvious where the monster had been. Red ooze stained and dried the walls and walkways, leaving a clear-cut trail. Parts of it disappeared where it hit the running river of sewage, but it popped up again on the opposite bank a few meters down. Zelos smiled to himself. This was too easy. It felt like a trap. And yet, how could he ignore it?

"That's it, isn't it?" Lloyd stated the obvious, a cold overtone cooling his words.

Zelos agreed. "Yep." He drew his sword. "Get ready."

They made their way down the path, careful not to attract too much attention to themselves. Rats noticed them along the way, but they scurried off soon afterwards. The water wasn't at full force, so it was simple enough to cross in parts. Thankfully, most of the paths here remained undamaged, so they could cross without having to get into the sewage too often.

Lloyd rubbed his left hand, massaging his exsphere. "It's burning a little bit again."

"Mine too." Zelos nodded. "Wonder why it does that?"

"Maybe it's a kind of warning?" Lloyd pondered. He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. I like to think my mom's still watching out for me."

"Hey, nothing wrong with that. Wish I had a good mom like that." There was an empty look of pain in Zelos's face, but Lloyd said nothing about it. It was better to let that subject go.

The swordsman changed the topic. "I can't believe something that big could be down here. Wish there was more lights."

"Yeah, it's a bit spooky. Perfect place to have some—" The redhead started, but stopped as soon as his idea had formed. He shut his jaw, lips coming to a slow stop against each other. Lloyd was going to ask why he'd stopped talking, but he saw it too.

It looked pale, ghastly even in the faint light. Whites, blues, and golden hues glowed in comparison with the dark walls. Beyond the vesper-like figure, the passages wavered and undulated like red gelatin. It sparkled with faint scarlet lights, their power hissing around its moving flesh. Faint skeletal outlines jutted out from it, a dull taupe against the dark environment.

Zelos addressed the girl in a soft tone, confused about what he was witnessing. "Hilda?"

"No way," Lloyd gasped, awestruck.

There was the slightest nod of respect, but there was nothing more personal than this. "Go back." She seemed to be in a state of shock, responding in a low, almost mechanical voice.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Lloyd asked, hoping to snap her out of it. "C'mon! Everyone's worried sick about you!"

She remained stationary. "Do not fight. You will not win."

Zelos hissed through his teeth, but it did little to intimidate the oddly silent monstrosity behind her. He couldn't believe how dull and empty her gaze looked. She knew who he was, but she didn't seem to care. It was so off, considering how she wanted to jam her tongue into his mouth just a few days ago. He didn't want that, either, but he didn't want to be looking at what could be little better than a callous, hollow echo of his princess.

"We're here to save you. Please, get away from that thing," Zelos kept his cool, but tried to plead to the girl.

The fleshy substance splashed out around her, broken bones reaching out for the two swordsmen. Two slashes were the only moves the duo could do before the cascade of gore struck them. It swept them off their feet, rolling them into its flesh. Zelos panicked, lightning and fire flashing in his head. Neither element came to his call. His brain was overcome with a sickly chill, fresh horror slapping him with an open hand. All of those times he had escaped—all those instances where the monster had run away—he had been little more than a biting fly against its hide.

Lloyd fought longer than Zelos could stand. His exsphere's crest was pierced with dozens of nerves, skeletal hands holding him still. He could feel Lloyd's thrashing as if it came from his own arms and legs. Even the defiant boy stilled, his mighty exsphere unable to resist the same power that dominated thousands of other exspheres. In the raging static of the monster's hive mind, the duo lost their senses.

Princess Hilda apologized to their limp forms, her voice cracking but cold. "I am sorry."

/***/

Author's Note:

This chapter's key word is "taupe", apparently…


	10. Chapter 10

Sheena's heart jumped in her chest.

She sat upright, glancing around. A breath of relief went out of her. It was that damn grandfather clock again. That was the third time it had woke her up that night. She shoved her bangs out of her eyes and rubbed them open. Pushing herself off the couch, she went to survey the house again.

Going upstairs, she made sure Seles was okay first. While the girl was initially moody with her, she started warming up before she went to bed. They talked about Zelos's antics, for the most part. She had pressed on a long time about how this event went down, but after a while, the girl gave up asking questions. Sheena wasn't sure if it was because the girl didn't think she would get more information or if she was disgusted by the details. Despite the nature of their conversation, the girl was still fast asleep and free of nightmares.

She passed an empty guest room, then sighed. She wished Colette hadn't been in such a hurry to take off. She could have used someone that didn't hate her to talk with her. In a selfish way, she wished that she went with Colette, if only to forget about this disaster for a while. Regal wasn't any company, either. He could hardly keep his supper down, his mind distant and wandering. At least his fever finally fell.

Tiptoeing downstairs, she considered what had to be done tomorrow. Colette would most likely not be back for a while. She would probably be awake for the entire day while Zelos and Lloyd slept off their fatigue. If Regal was feeling better, he'd have half the city scouted out and breakfast served before seven. Heck, maybe even Seles would feel like pitching in.

"Miss Fujibayashi? May I help you?"

The voice startled her. It was Sebastian. She put a hand to her forehead, relieved. "No. Just doing rounds again. What are you up to?"

The butler confessed, "I find it harder to sleep, lately. It's taxing when one's employment rests in the hands of a...shall we say, energetic man like Master Zelos." His smile dropped, and he resumed a somber state. "Has he returned yet?"

"No, not yet." Sheena shook her head. "It's still a couple of hours before sunrise."

Sebastian nodded. "I see." He placed a hand over his mouth and yawned. "Pardon me. I appear to be more fatigued than I thought."

"Don't worry about it. I've got everything under control," The ninja gave him a smile. It was nice to talk to somebody like Sebastian every once in a while. He never really got worked up—he was always in a happy neutral state.

"Alright. Good night, Miss Fujibayashi," The butler bowed just a little, then turned back to return to his own quarters. "Do get some rest yourself. Sir Bud will take care of Master Zelos until they get back."

Sheena rolled her eyes. "Those idiots are harder to kill than cockroaches." She thought she heard the slightest murmur of a chuckle coming from the butler.

As she went to go back to sleep on the couch, Sheena tried brushing a small fear aside. Stupid Sebastian. Of course Lloyd and Zelos would be fine. Why did he have to bring up something like that? She pulled a cushion behind her head and got comfortable. This really was a nice sleeping couch. She knew why Zelos liked to crash on it. Now, if it only didn't smell like him, it would be perfect. Not that it was a bad scent, but she just didn't like to think about his situation while she was sleeping.

Four turned into five. Five turned into six. Six snapped to seven, and then eight.

But nobody would be coming home.

/***/

A jarring screech snapped Colette out of her slumber.

She didn't remember when she had fallen asleep. The last thing she recalled was an endless ocean spreading out in front of her, carrying onward forever. She was planning on landing in Iselia with the hope that she could find the Professor and Genis. It became obvious that she had steered off-course in her slumber. There was no reason Iselia would ever be snowing in the middle of summer.

She had beached the Elemental Cargo in the Flanoir harbor.

"Oh, no!" Colette flushed bright red. She unbuckled herself and exited the vehicle, dreading what she would find. Despite the awful grating noise, it looked like the ship would be okay. There were scratches along the bottom part of the hull from where she had slammed into the cold beach. Thankfully, none of them were all that deep. She had been lucky again. Still, she couldn't believe that she'd fallen asleep. Maybe she shouldn't have been so gung-ho about finding Presea.

She was deep enough into her thoughts to be startled by a new voice, "Oooy! We've got another one!" Colette squeaked in fright and jumped around. Several burly men came up to see what had happened. They seemed unaffected by the cold, all in naval uniforms with thick jackets. She wondered if she should run, but the men weren't being aggressive.

Colette got enough courage up to talk with one of them. "Pardon me, but you said 'Another one.' Another one what?"

A man with a square jaw and a well-groomed beard responded. "You're from Altamira, aren't you?"

"Well, no. I come from a town called Iselia, and—" Colette started to correct the man, but stopped. "Wait, what do you mean Altamira?"

Another man explained the situation to the blonde. "We've been getting ships in from Altamira for the past couple of days. Spooked out of their wits." He rubbed his nose and sniffled. "Strangest damn thing I've ever seen."

A new flare of panic rushed through the Chosen's brain. "Is anyone taking care of them?"

"The doctor's doing the best he can," a young, slim man answered. "The entire town's been working to help these people. Even some of the tourists are helping." He sighed and crossed his arms. "We've tried to send letters to the king, but we've gotten no response. It's such a mess."

"Say, hold on," The first man stopped and studied Colette. "Think I've seen you before."

Colette smiled, bowing towards him. "Oh! I'm sorry. I'm Colette Brunel. I came here with some friends when—"

"Oh, for the love of Martel!" The young man cried out. He grabbed the Chosen's hand and shook it profusely. "It's such an honor! A blessing! A miracle!" Colette blushed again, not sure how to respond.

The second man snorted and shook his head. "Wouldn't you know it? Angels among us."

"I'm not really an angel. I'm...well, never mind," Colette didn't know how to explain her condition to them. She smiled, "I don't know how much I can help. I'm actually supposed to be looking for Presea Combatir. Suppose you don't know her?"

The first man scratched at his chin. "Can't say we've been getting a lot of vacationers this way lately, but you never know who gets tired of the damn heat."

Colette nodded. This wouldn't be a complete waste of time. Maybe nobody would know anything, but at the very least, she could help people out. That was her job, after all. She couldn't stop being the Chosen. It was against her nature. She followed her entourage to the isolated town, skipping along as she went. She'd just have to hope the others would forgive her for losing a little bit of time.

The city was bustling with activity, groups of people huddled together as they made their way. It was easy to tell the Flanoir citizens apart from their visitors—they walked with their backs straight, taking the cold to their chest like a plant absorbing sunlight. Some of the people gave her an offhand glance, knowing who she was but not otherwise shocked to see her presence. Lines snaked around the inn and hospital, masses seeking refuge in the local cathedral. It was a city swollen with grief, many hands seeking help.

It was at dire times like these that Colette wished she had Professor Sage's healing arts.

She worked through the crowds, asking the same questions over and over again. Some gave her little more than a grunt. Others, a curse. A few despondent people would shake their heads, then hold her hands. No one had seen a little girl with pink pigtails. It was too crowded, too busy, too chaotic.

"I'm sorry. I'm too busy keeping an eye on my children."

"I don't want to talk about what happened to me."

"Quit trying to cut in line!"

"I can't find my wife. I need to find her first!"

"She'll show up. Be patient."

Each person had their own burden to suffer through. The inquiries of a ditzy blonde girl were too much for them to handle.

Her head lowered, Colette moved to the next person in line. She tugged on his brown sleeve, then went through her script once more. "Pardon me, sir. I'm looking for—"

"Miss Brunel?" came a rattled voice.

Colette looked up. The face of the old man was familiar, but not intimate. His hair was gray, eyes drooped, moustache neatly combed. His neck was covered by a thick, red cravat. He had a weariness about him, a life filled with regrets. Yet, he still had kindness in his eyes.

"—George?" Colette asked.

The old man cupped her hands. "I am glad to see you, my dear. Are you all right?"

"Fine! Perfectly fine," she chirped back. She patted the old man's hands. "I'm glad you're well. I know Regal will be happy to—"

"Master Bryant is alive?" The news brought energy to the old man's face. "I should not have doubted him for one moment. Thank you, Miss Brunel. I feel as if a weight has been taken off my chest."

"Are you okay?" Colette inquired.

The elderly servant nodded. "Only a few scrapes and bruises. Still, it was quite the escape, for an old man like me. This weather is painful on my joints. I feel as if I may freeze stiff!"

Colette beamed. "Then, you shouldn't be outside!" She tugged on his hand, pulling him towards the inn.

"I certainly could use a warm drink," George replied.

The old man and the young lady weaved through the lines, managing to squeeze through the front door of the inn. The tables were full, walls lined with weary refugees. It felt like a sauna, hot and filled with the scent of sweat. A tiny waitress made her way towards them, taking orders for warm drinks. With all the heat inside the inn, it didn't take long for both of them to unwind.

"What brings you this way?" George queried, wiping coffee from his moustache.

"I was supposed to head to Iselia, but I fell asleep while driving," Colette confessed. "I'm looking for Raine and Genis. Presea, too. Nobody seems to know where she went."

George nodded. "That is unfortunate. Miss Combatir and Master Bryant got into a bit of a tiff a while ago, so we haven't had knowledge of her activities. I don't know if they have exchanged letters in a few weeks."

"What? Why would Presea and Regal fight?" Colette asked. She winced, realizing that was a dumb question. The two had hard history together. Any mention of Presea's sister would either have both of them in tears, or Presea at Regal's throat. It was only at the end of their travels with Lloyd and Colette that the two had managed to patch up their relationship.

The answer George gave was much different than Colette expected. "Miss Combatir is a young lady, not a child. I believe Master Bryant sometimes oversteps his bounds when it comes to advising and guarding her."

"He does worry a lot about her," Colette agreed. "It's hard not to, though. She's a good friend. She's been through a lot, too."

George bobbed his head. "I believe it is easier for her to have solitude. She is just discovering who she is—how she feels. She has been alone for most of her life, too. Opening up, sharing her thoughts and plans…why, it's difficult for any young lady."

"So, I suppose you haven't seen her here?" Colette asked.

The old man lifted his gaze. Dozens of figures were huddled around the front desk, begging for rooms that weren't available. Others were glad merely to have shelter in the lobby from the cold. Many were weak, tired, tucked under robes. Wide, wary eyes watched him, nervous about what he was doing. He closed his eyes, then grimaced and nodded.

"There are so many people here. Locals, tourists, refugees. If Miss Combatir is here, then I have not seen her," George said.

Colette sighed, then tipped her head. "That's too bad. We could really use her help." She paused, then launched into a loud, fast explanation. "That thing that attacked Altamira? It came from Meltokio! Zelos and Sheena have been trying to stop it, but it keeps doing weird things, like eating people and hunting for exspheres. They said that it was looking for Presea, so Lloyd and I decided to help fight it! But we can't find her anywhere, and that's got all of us worried, and it did gross things to Regal, and it's super messy and disgusting and eww, and if that thing found her—"

"M-Miss Brunel," George stammered. "Please, lower your voice. Many of the survivors would be horrified to know such information."

Wincing, Colette shrunk down. "I'm sorry."

George lowered his head. He sighed, then patted Colette on the shoulder. "Where will you go next, if she is not here?"

"Well, guess I'll leave from the harbor and head to Iselia," Colette replied. "We need to get Professor Sage and Genis' help. Then, I'll take them to Meltokio and keep looking for Presea." She giggled, then corrected herself. "Genis will want to come with me, though. He's got such a cute crush on Presea. Total puppy love! I love that it's called puppy love too, because dogs are super cute and fluffy and—"

"It is best you keep to your schedule, then," George cut Colette's rambling short. "If I see Miss Combatir, I will send her your way."

Colette was stunned by George's offer. "You mean, you'll search for her too?"

"If Master Wilder requires assistance, then you should get him all the help you can. Since I have little more I can offer, I may as well do my part to help you out as well," George replied, his smile softened by his moustache.

Colette grabbed the stiff old man in a sharp hug, spilling some of their drinks. "Thank you so much!"

George lowered his head, embarrassed by the blonde's outburst. "Y-you are welcome, Miss Brunel. Now, please. Finish your drink before you leave."

"Right!" Without a second thought, the Chosen threw her drink back. Hot fluid pulsed through her chest, reaching out towards her fingertips. George watched in a stunned stupor as she rushed up to the front counter to return her mug and pay, then burst out the front door. The one with the wary eyes turned away from her, then headed upstairs. He smiled, wondering how one girl's energy could blind her from her own goals.

"Thank you so much, George!" Colette shouted. "I'll tell the others that you're okay!"

George raised a hand, then waved the ditzy Chosen off. "Good luck, Miss Brunel!"

He sank against the wall, weary from the conversational typhoon that had struck him. Others passed by him, frustrated with the crowded atmosphere inside the tiny inn. He took his time to finish his drink, thoughts tangled in his brain. He felt elated—perhaps from the Chosen's residual energy—but disturbed as well. Such matters seemed taxing, insurmountable.

A small shadow flanked him as he prepared to leave. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't move. His companion had a pack over her shoulder, eyes fixed straight ahead, a hood tucked over her head. George didn't dare look at her for long. She was still, quiet, reserved—a ghost that reminded him of sour days.

"I should have gone after that monster," the shadow murmured.

George shook his head. "I couldn't let you. If something would have happened to you, Master Bryant would have—"

"I know," his companion said.

"…I suppose there is no stopping you now," George sighed.

"I need to help my friends," the shadow replied. "Besides…it may stop hunting others if it finds me. I need to engage it on my own terms, at the very least."

"Do be careful then, Miss Combatir," George pleaded. "Please hurry. She'll be leaving the harbor at any moment."

The small girl smiled. "There's nothing to worry about, George. She'll have slipped in the snow three times by now."

/***/

Author's Note:

I noticed that there was a bit of a hole last time around about what had happened to George. With as much time as I spent focusing on Tokunaga and Sebastian, I felt like I was dropping the ball by missing an aide. Fixing that problem made a neat scene in Flanoir, so I ran with it.

I cut out an unnecessary battle scene as well. It seems creepier to leave off the story where I had it last chapter. That's something that went missing during the latter chapters of this story—a sense of dread.


	11. Chapter 11

There was soft scratching coming from the kitchen.

It had been going on for some time now. In her weariness, Sheena had hardly heard it at all. Pen on paper. The scratching would stop, and a tapping would begin. The idle movements of someone trying to recall information. She let it go. She felt so heavy, tired. Even lifting her eyelids felt like taxing work.

The sound continued until a coughing fit seized the writer.

Sheena pushed her face out of the couch's pillows. That deserved some investigation. She padded across the living room, bare feet soft and quiet on the cool ground. She nudged the kitchen door open. Regal was at the kitchen sink, pulling his head back at the sound of an intruder. He wiped his chin, then ran the faucet. Mucus as black as ink washed away.

"Good morning," Regal greeted Sheena.

"Hey," she replied. She tried not to stare too long at the running water. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, then shut off the faucet. "I'm still expelling some…less than appealing material."

"Ah, don't worry about it. Most of the stuff that comes out of a human isn't great, anyway." Sheena waved her hand, batting at invisible concerns.

"I apologize for being a disturbance," Regal murmured, his eyes lowered behind thick bangs. "Please, continue to rest. There's no need to worry over my condition."

Sheena blew off his reply. "Hey, that's why I stuck around. That, and I can't trust Seles to behave herself." She crossed her arms, then huffed. "That dumb girl would have gone right after her brother. She's in no shape for fighting. Not since she gave up her exsphere."

"A noble sacrifice," Regal stated.

Sheena's face flushed red. It was difficult to talk with Regal. He had an intimidating way of speaking—sometimes, much too elaborate and serious for the occasion. She patted the kitchen table, then pushed him towards a seat. "You just sit down and take it easy. Want something to drink?"

"Whatever you provide will be perfectly acceptable," he accepted her offer.

"You are such a—" Sheena's brain froze trying to think of the right word. She huffed, then blew a raspberry. That was about as articulate as she could manage, considering her lack of sleep.

She pulled a kettle down from Zelos' cupboard. Filling that up with fresh water, she put it on the stove and let it boil. She patted through his collection of tea pouches, trying to find something appropriate. Chamomile seemed soothing. She took a packet of that, then placed it in a ceramic cup. Digging further back, her eyes widened. In a small canister was soft, green powder. Matcha? When did he get that? It had to have come from Mizuho, but he so rarely visited the hidden village.

She snatched the kettle from the stove just as it was about to whistle. She poured two drinks, then placed the kettle down on a cold burner. Regal smiled, nodding his head in thanks. He took to the tea instantly. She stirred hers, letting it cool just a touch.

"What are you working on?" Sheena asked.

"A list of names," Regal replied. "I will need to send out condolences, once we stop this massacre. I fear that if I delay in compiling this list, I may forget someone."

Sheena's eyebrows furrowed together. "You remember everyone who died in Altamira?"

Her grief turned to horror. Of course he would. He had been locked in with their corpses while they had the flesh stripped from their bones. That was all he saw for days. She kept quiet, trying to imagine what sort of terror that had to be. When she had caused the deaths of a fourth of Mizuho's village, it snapped her spirit. The smell of fresh lightning. The stench of fried corpses. All she had been able to do was curl up and cry until it stopped. If it had dragged on any longer—if she had seen Volt tear her neighbors apart, little chunks at a time—

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I wish…If Zelos and I could have stopped it…"

The frown that used to be ever-present on Regal's face returned. "The least we can do now is prevent this from happening to anyone else and mend what we can." He tried pulling out of his slump, tapping gently on her right hand. "I am in your debt, Sheena. Please, do not berate yourself for being bested by alternative scenarios."

"W-well, I could have done better! Or came sooner, or stopped that monster in the first place, or something…" Sheena stammered. "A-and it wasn't like I did most of the work anyway! So, you just save your sweet talking for the others, okay? Geez!"

Regal tried to suppress a laugh. "I suppose if Zelos would have said such words to you, you would have committed some act of violence upon him. Perhaps I should consider myself lucky."

"Would you just shut up and get back to writing?" Sheena groaned.

They sat together, drinking and writing. Sheena would study Zelos's kitchen, then her companion. This felt like it should have been a decent morning. It was quiet, calm, cooler than the sticky summer winds outside of the mansion. She felt like someone was pulling her shoulders back, keeping a knife at the base of her spine. It was strange to be in another person's house without them present.

"It's too quiet without him here," Sheena fretted. "I mean, he should have been back by now, right? Between him and Lloyd…no, it's way too late. Something's up."

"You are correct," Regal agreed. He placed his pen down, then finished his drink. "We should search for them."

Sheena grimaced. "It's not like we can leave Seles alone. You shouldn't be so gung-ho, either. We just got you patched up. If anything happened to either of you, Zelos would—"

"I hardly think you fear his retribution," Regal smirked. "Besides—he would have to tell you his anger in person, would he not? That requires finding him."

"Ugh. Well, I guess if you put it like that…" Sheena relented.

She finished off her drink, then tapped on Regal's left arm. She led him out of the kitchen, then back to the foyer. Seles was sitting on the couch, having taken over Sheena's sleeping spot, flipping through a novel. Both Sebastian and Tokunaga were bustling about, making idle chatter and dusting. They greeted both Sheena and Regal, but Seles did little more than peek over her book.

"You haven't seen Zelos, have you?" Sheena asked Seles.

"No, I haven't seen that idiot." Seles flipped another page, then grumbled. "I'm guessing if you're asking that, then he's not back yet. At nine in the morning, after a night shift fighting some big, dumb monster—that would put him somewhere between a rock and a hard place, right?"

Regal agreed. "Our thoughts aren't particularly optimistic."

"Figures." Seles plopped her book onto the couch. She kicked her feet over the side, then hopped up. "Sebastian? Tokunaga? Keep an eye on the place. We have to go fish my stupid brother out of a gutter."

Sebastian didn't seem particularly shocked at the statement. Zelos could get out of hand, from time to time. Tokunaga expressed more concern. "Do be careful, Seles. Don't let yourself get run down, and try not to get involved in any fights."

Seles rolled her eyes. "Sure. I'll leave that to the two armed with oh-so-lethal shoes and playing cards."

As Seles bounced off to grab her hat and purse, Sheena shot Regal an angry glare. He was too busy staring at the front door and his feet to catch her rage. He took a moment to examine the buttons on his shirt, then smiled. "I don't believe I have thanked you for the new clothes."

"Well, we had to get your suit cleaned," Sheena grinned. "Couldn't let you outside the house without something decent to wear."

"It might have worked out. You never know!" Seles interrupted. "Some of the older ladies around here like a good show. Probably could have even gotten gifts out of them."

Sheena drew her head back. "Holy cow. You are Zelos' sister!"

"Oh, sure. I offer to help you, and you start insulting me," Seles grumbled.

The street just outside of Zelos' manor was desolate. No idlers were found outside of their homes. Curtains were drawn shut, mansions dark. Suspicious eyes watched from shrubbery, then backed away. Thieves looking for marks, no doubt. The trio listened for activity. Clatter from other quarters was echoing throughout the city. That seemed to be a good place to start investigating.

They moved towards the edge of the noble's quarters. Horse-drawn carriages were aligned along all of the houses. Women carried hatboxes inside, their husbands waiting impatiently with narrowed eyes. Children were shooed back to their parents and out of the line of traffic.

"Where are they all going?" Sheena asked.

Seles raised her hand. "I've got this. Give me a second."

The young lady blended into the crowd within a blink of an eye. Sheena and Regal watched in amazement. There was a time where people like Seles—a half-elven child born out of wedlock—would have been hit for having the audacity to speak with upper class humans. She would have even balked at doing such a task on her own. Now, she was commanding their time and respect, gathering information at a rapid speed. It was an impressive change, both in the city's atmosphere and Seles herself.

Seles hopped back, stepping around a rushing child. "The king issued an evacuation order for the city. See those guards? They're going from house to house, trying to get everyone going." She paused, then crossed her arms. "We're supposed to be out of town before sundown."

"He's just ordering that now?" Sheena scoffed.

Regal shook his head. "What changed?"

"There was an attack at the castle, and—" were all the words Seles got out before both Regal and Sheena bolted.

No one could run quite as fast as the ninja from Mizuho. She bounced off of corners, whipping around alleyways. Regal was close behind, shouting quick apologies to startled citizens as he pursued Sheena. There was no way a frail asthmatic like Seles could keep up with either of them. She wheezed her way up the castle steps, glaring at both the nobleman and the ninja as she caught her breath.

"Should have kept that damn exsphere," Seles coughed.

The guards at the front of the castle didn't hold the trio up very long. They cracked open the front doors, giving somber directions. "It'll be to the left."

White marble and red rugs were clean in the front throne room. Nothing was out of order. Sheena's stomach knotted up. The only thing worse than seeing devastation was being told there was something wrong and not seeing it. She pressed into the west wing of the castle. A familiar stench bubbled at the edge of her senses. Still, no stains.

The guard's quarters were empty, though.

The smell was the strongest at the far end of the castle. Her companions became apprehensive. Seles put a hand over her nose, trying to block out the odor of wet decay. If she had her eyes closed, she would have thought she was standing in a slaughterhouse. Regal's exsphere throbbed. He put a hand over it, massaging his sore wrist. It did little to quell his concerns.

They stood above the underground prisons, frozen with fear. Regal grimaced, then descended. Sheena and Seles followed him, gripping the sides of the walls. They pulled their hands back when wet ooze passed through their fingertips. There were sharp smacking sounds as Regal stepped off the last stair step. His boots stuck to the sticky, gore-drenched floor. He looked down once, then snapped his head upright. If his eyes wandered down again, he would surely black out.

Scarlet tissue hanged in clumps from cell bars. The iron doors between the prison and the coliseum were unharmed, but drenched in the stuff. None of the cell doors were unlocked. No prisoners remained. Regal grabbed onto the bars, his eyes distant. Sheena didn't dare think about what went through his mind.

"Where did they go?" Seles asked. She gasped, then gave a startled cry. "Is that—oh, hell no!"

Both Sheena and Regal turned to face the cell Seles was studying. Hunks of organs were left in a small tin pail. Two of them were easy to identify. Eyes—gray, bloodshot, optic nerves dangling behind them. The third organ was odd. Sheena tipped her head. It was small, a little muscular box. Hardly anything as striking as leaving someone's eyes.

Regal's murmurs were barely audible. "A larynx…"

"A voice box?" Seles's eyes widened. "What kind of psychopath cuts out a person's voice box?"

"The same kind that leaves eyeballs," Sheena replied.

The dark, dank prison concealed Regal's paling skin. He shook his head, then looked through the remaining cells. They were all like this—its occupants torn apart, their organs left on display. A clear message. A personal one. Evidence of what that monster wanted.

"This is…remarkably human behavior," Regal said.

"The scientists at the Elemental Research Laboratory did say that it was made of human cells. Maybe half-elven ones, too." Sheena nodded, then drew her arms away from the bars.

Seles crinkled her nose. "So, it's leaving calling cards now?"

"There is a more insidious issue at hand," Regal stated. "If this monster was able to come here and do this, what stopped it from getting to the king?"

"You are assuming it wished to kill me, Duke Bryant."

All three investigators glanced towards the open stairwell. The King of Tethe'alla was black against the sunlight seeping down. Light struck against somber wrinkles. In his hands were three bloodied sheathes resting together. Without thought or care for his own robes, the king sank into the filth with his subjects.

Sheena's heart contracted at the objects cradled in the king's arms. Two sheathes were brown leather, one white and blue. They were stained garnet and black by gore. She took the white sheath from the king, studying it with swelling pain in her chest. Zelos' sword. There was no doubt to whom the other two blades belonged. Those had to be Lloyd's weapons.

"The prison guard recovered these," the king said. "They were left on his desk."

Seles stammered. "B-big brother?"

Sheena gave her his sword, trying not to break down and cry. It didn't mean anything. There was no body. It just meant he was unarmed, and that creature had gotten to him. That thought hurt worst of all. She stared at Regal, trying to find solace in his presence. They had saved him. She could rescue them. Even her tiny splinter of optimism was shattered by Regal's pained eyes. He knew the torture they were going through. The memory of such physical oppression made his breath hitch.

"It was foolish of me to think my daughter was still alive," the king confessed. "What I put the Chosen through…"

Sheena snarled. "Don't you dare say it was a mistake! Don't say this was meaningless!"

Her sharp rebuke silenced the king. His words died in his jaw. He lowered his eyes, unable to speak his sorrows. There was no kingdom left. He had no child. All that was left of him was a man in dirtied robes clutching swords. Even that was taken from him as Regal retrieved Lloyd's blades.

"Please, leave as soon as you can," the king begged.

Seles shook her head. "I'm not going to have my brother taken from me! Not again!"

"We've still got to wait for Colette to come back," Sheena replied. "Once she brings Presea, Genis, and Raine, we'll have a better chance."

The king shook his head. "I'm not going to send you to face such terrible deaths. Please, reconsider. You once saved me from a slow, lingering fate. Stop, before you meet a tragic end."

"If we can't contain the creature, it will go on to prey on other cities. We can't abandon Meltokio," Regal argued. "If you see this evacuation as the only way to protect your people, then do so. We will hold it back."

The king hissed, shocked by Regal's words. "How can you have such faith? You were nearly killed by that monster! Would you be imbecilic enough to—"

"I would throw myself into its maw again if it saved even one life," Regal growled.

Such determined words cut the king's fearful prattling short. He backed away from the trio, struck by their resolve. He could understand Seles' plight. She hadn't been subjected to days without knowledge of her brother's health. She wouldn't have snapped yet. Regal was resolute, but in his condition, his words were little more than bluffs. Sheena's motivation was the shakiest of all. A citizen of Mizuho had little reason to put her neck on the line for someone from Meltokio. Even if she was a good friend of Zelos'—even if she was something more—her loyalties were going to get herself killed. No ninja worth their salt fought meaningless battles.

"If I am wrong—" the king began.

"You are," Seles cut him off.

The king bowed his head. "Then, please. Do what I am powerless to do. Save her." He raised his head once more, then threw a finger out of the prison block. "Now, go. My guards must lock up."

Sheena scowled, but obeyed. She led Seles and Regal out the prison block, poisonous thoughts on her mind. Her venom slipped through her teeth. "What's even worth stealing down here?"

For the king, her words were true. There was nothing valuable left to be taken from him.

/***/

All he could hear was his own heartbeat.

If he was breathing, he couldn't feel it. He felt wet, naked, hot. There was neither sky nor ground. Just darkness peppered with tiny stars. He reached out, hands sluggish. His chest burned as something dug into his sternum. He was a node on a vine, part of a snarl that went across thousands of dots. All glowing, burning, encased in perpetual night.

He wondered—yes, he could feel Lloyd. He might as well been in another galaxy, across shifted planes, but he was there. If he thought hard enough, he could feel Lloyd in his brain. It was a gentle pressure in the center of his forehead, containing memories of events he knew nothing about. The sensation brought a sliver of a smile to his weary face. He hoped Lloyd could sense him, too.

Sheena's memory comforted him. The softness of her skin, the warmth of her chest, the way her black hair would shine in the full moon. He spared a moment for Regal, hoping he would be strong enough to protect such beauty from the abhorrent beast than had consumed him. He saw dozens of tiny rosebuds in his head. There was a flash of activity from Lloyd, and they shared this hallucination. A memory of sweet flowers—of something small like Presea.

He remembered the sharp sting of fire, trying to recall how to cast spells.

He went back to sleep.

/***/

Author's Note:

I previously used Zelos and Lloyd's scenario as a way to experiment with some goofy dream sequences. I feel this rewrite adds a bit of a slower, gentler stress to their situation. Plus you have to be careful with dreams. They tend to piss people of if they are of no consequence to the story.

I still don't know if I'm writing Seles correctly. Such is the sorrow of a minor character. At least I finally got to spelling her name correctly. You would not believe how many times I typed "Celes" instead of "Seles."


	12. Chapter 12

The sound of children's laughter carried far and high on the gentle wind that evening. After working with burly lumberjacks for so long, Presea had forgotten how other boys and girls sang and giggled. While the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, several youths were still out playing in front of the schoolyard. The small town was bathed in orange sunlight, purple clouds growing from the west but not encroaching on the evening quite yet. Colette sighed, oxygen running deep into her lungs. The air smelt of sweet grass and fresh flowers. She never knew how she could never be homesick so far from home and yet be struck with it once she came back. It felt like a long day getting to Iselia, but she was glad they had made it.

"I would assume those are Raine's students," Presea spoke.

Colette shrugged. "Well, Professor Sage is just one of the teachers here. After the world regeneration happened, quite a few teachers have been traveling in and out of here. I think they are all interested in knowing how—"

Presea interrupted her. "No, that's not what I meant. Look." She pushed Colette around until the chosen saw what she did. Colette chuckled in surprise. There, amongst the small crowd of children in front of the schoolhouse was the professor. She had worked them up into a frenzy, posing dramatically with her staff whipped in random directions. She was quite loud, drilling the students on some history lesson. The kids squealed with laughter at her reenactments, particularly when she would fake her own death. All that the duo caught were short snippets of her speeches that poked above the children's laughter, but that was enough to make them giggle as well.

The professor was caught up in her own acting when she stopped, her left hand held fast over an imaginary stab wound. The newest spectators to her show caught her off guard. Her students all turned to see why the professor had stopped, and they gave off a high squeal. Most of them leapt on Colette, thousands of questions flying in the air. A few surrounded Presea as well, asking her about rumors about her travels. Their energy was overwhelming.

"Class! Settle down! Just because we have special guests doesn't mean we can bombard them with questions." Although Raine was quick to correct her students, Presea had the nagging feeling that she did so just to be able to speak to her friends first. She hugged both of them. "It's good to see you two again. What brings you here, anyway?" She narrowed her eyes. "And where is Lloyd? I thought you two were joined at the hip."

Colette shook her head. "No, Professor. That would be very awkward. Neither of us would be able to fight well like that!"

The saying had gone over the blonde's head, as usual. The professor sighed. There was no amount of education that was going to shake that off. "Never mind. I'm just glad that you two are alright."

"I would hate to interrupt your lesson, but..." Presea tried to explain what they were doing in Iselia. "Well, we have a problem."

One of the children decided it was a good time to jump into the conversation. "Dwarven vow number two!" His classmates chanted in unison "Never abandon someone in need!" Presea smirked, shaking her head during the entire event. It was apparent that some of Lloyd's dogma and mantras had worked their way into the school system.

Raine rubbed the corners of her eyes. "This was just glorified babysitting, really, but...you're right. Class is dismissed for now." She addressed her students, "Do any of you need help getting home?"

The group of students shook their heads. Most of them looked disappointed that the professor was done with her act for the night. Older brothers and sisters dragged their siblings in tow. The small crowd dispensed. The professor smiled, smoothing out her orange robes. She wished the two would have come when she wasn't so dirty from playing with her students, but little could be done otherwise. One couldn't order a convenient surprise.

"Let's go to my house," the professor suggested. "Genis is working on supper. I hope you haven't eaten yet. He always makes too much."

Colette clapped her hands together. "That sounds fantastic! I don't know about you, Presea, but I'm starving."

The pink-haired girl agreed, but her thoughts weren't dedicated to her personal needs. She felt herself side-tracked by the dilemma at hand. It was hard to want to stay on topic when something much graver loomed somewhere out there. It was lucky that she was so close to her friends, or she would have walked past the Sage's home and straight out of Iselia. The only thing that snapped her out of her thoughts was when someone said her name.

"Pardon me?" Presea apologized. "I'm sorry."

Raine laughed. "I was asking how your summer is going. Colette said you were on a vacation in Flanoir. That's very unusual."

Presea blushed. "Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I guess I was just tired of the heat."

"You're beginning to sound more like Colette." The professor crossed her arms. "Are you alright?"

It was hard to consider her status as even decent, considering that she was on the hit list of a mad monster. "I will discuss our problem during supper."

Despite the cramped appearance of the Sage's residence, it was rather cozy on the inside. The smell of tomato sauce filled the small home. Genis was working away on making spaghetti, his apron stained with sauce. The scent made Presea long for years passed. Her stomach panged as well. Maybe she was hungrier than she thought. Worrying had a way of burning calories.

"P-p-presea! Colette!" Genis stammered. "It's good to see you both again!" He gave both of the girls a bear hug. The half-elf then jumped away in surprise. "Oh, no! I didn't get sauce on you two, did I?"

Colette beamed. "Nothing that won't come out. Do you have a washcloth?"

The group got most of their light conversation out of the way first. Genis told about his applications to both Palmacosta and Sybak's universities. Both locations were fighting for his attendance. Raine told stories of her students and how they were picking up the strangest details about their journey from their parents. One rumor went as far as to say that Raine was actually a reincarnation of one ruler from Cleo the Third's lineage. Colette talked about her journey to destroy exspheres with Lloyd, which boiled down to antics with local merchants trying to pawn the stones off as jewelry. Presea remained quiet during the entire discussion, helping set plates and boil noodles. The chatter was pleasant enough for her.

Their conversation became much heavier as they sat down to eat. "So, tell us. Why did you come to Iselia?" Raine was on edge, trying to figure out what would bring her friends back.

Colette fidgeted for a moment, rolling noodles around with her fork. "Well, where should we start? The part where Presea came in, or where Lloyd and I began, or—"

"Just start at the very beginning." Genis cut her yammering short.

"Right. I guess it's the best place to start," Colette agreed. She took a quick swallow, and then continued. "Well, let's see. Princess Hilda turned seventeen, so the king threw a party. And Zelos was invited, of course."

Genis frowned. "This isn't going to end up with him getting arrested for being intoxicated in public, is it?"

"No, I don't think he was poisoned." As usual, Colette missed the mark. "But the party got attacked by this big monster! A bunch of people got killed, and Zelos was almost eaten too! The king got really mad, so Zelos was charged with figuring out what happened. Sheena showed up to help him because she's really nice like that. So, they've been investigating this monster, and it turns out that it's sentinel!"

"You mean sentient." Genis snorted, unable to contain his laughter. "Anyway, what kind of monster is this thing, anyway?"

Presea chimed in, "Neither of us has seen the monster, but the others have described it as being gelatinous. Colette said that it is made up of human remains and exspheres." She hesitated on the next part. "It has fluctuating intelligence and is capable of communication. It also has some sort of vendetta with me."

That was enough to switch Genis's mood around. He jumped out of his seat. "N-n-no way! I'm not g-g-going to let any monster h-h-hurt you, Pu-pu-pres—"

"Calm down, Genis," Raine rebuked her brother. She turned her attention back to their guests. "I would assume that this is a problem than neither Sheena nor Zelos could solve, considering that you have come so far to visit us."

Colette nodded. She folded her hands and looked down towards the floor. "If it just stayed in Meltokio..." She shuddered at her memories. "I saw what it can do. I'm not sure we're even enough to take care of it."

Genis dropped his attitude again, calming down but at the same time anxious about Colette's mood. "If we can't defeat it, who will? I mean, we restored the world back to its original form. How hard is it to stop a monster if all eight of us—"

"I know. I know!" Colette interrupted. "Well, that's...I mean, I think...if nothing happened since I left Meltokio..."

"Don't dance around the subject." Raine cut to the chase. "What did you last know?"

Presea filled in the blanks. "Colette told me that both Zelos and Lloyd were going to patrol Meltokio and look for further evidence of the monster's presence. Sheena was going to keep an eye on Zelos's mansion for the time being. Apparently, his sister showed up in all of this mayhem, and Regal was injured by the monster during an attack on Altamira. So, she is watching them both. Colette went on to find me, and then we came here to seek you two."

Genis rolled his head back, rocking his chair as far back as possible. "So, it's us against some homicidal freak of nature, huh? And it's likely that if you don't get our help, Meltokio and possibly several other cities are toast?"

"Most likely," Presea agreed.

Raine nodded, placing two fingers on the side of her face. "Perhaps we can come up with a strategy to attack. Tell me all you know about this monster."

Colette nodded. Even though her experience with the creature was limited, it was more than anyone else had to go on. "Well, it likes dark places. It also travels through water. Oh, and it's made up of lots of exspheres!"

"How many is lots?" Genis asked.

"Over three thousand!" Colette shouted. "See, Lloyd and I were investigating what happened to the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge, and apparently, that monster picked up all those exspheres!"

"My goodness!" Raine put a hand over her heart. "Do you realize the potential power of something like that? That's like an army of Mithos' angels!"

Colette waved her hands, trying to settle the professor down. "I don't know if it's that strong, Professor. Every time it's been encountered, it's run away from us. I wonder if we make it sick, too."

Genis couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. "What are you talking about?"

"Colette said that she experienced some illness when she first encountered it. Zelos, Lloyd, Sheena, and Regal had similar reactions," Presea explained. "The symptoms usually include a low-grade fever and vomiting, as well as some burns from the exsphere itself. They also temporarily lose conscious control over their bodies."

Raine nodded. "I see." She tipped her head to the side, then tapped her chin. "It almost sounds like an allergic reaction. Has it happened more than once to anyone?"

"No," Colette replied.

Genis rocked back on his chair. "So, we're dealing with a carnivorous man-eater large enough to consume thousands of exspheres and people. However, it can't digest people equipped with exspheres without making itself sick, and it makes exsphere users sick. And it's got bad blood with Presea." He chewed on his lip, then came up with an answer. "Ice magic."

"Good idea," Raine agreed. "Any magic that can cauterize flesh would be useful as well. However, it's possible that all those exspheres may absorb high amounts of energy."

"So, careful with fire, lightning, and light? Gotcha," Genis nodded.

Presea lowered her eyebrows. "It seems like close contact with it is hazardous. I don't know how I would be able to defend against such a creature."

"If Sheena is with us, then that won't be a concern," Raine soothed her worries. "We can use her contract rings to modify our weapons with different elements. That should give you an extra edge."

Genis grinned in agreement. "And you know we'll have your back! So, don't worry. We'll have this under control in no time."

"I knew that we could count on you two!" Colette cheered. She leapt from her seat, slapping her hands down. "Let's get going!"

Presea tugged on Colette's right sleeve. "Let's at least let them finish dinner first. They will need to pack as well."

"Oh. Right," Colette plopped into her seat once more. "Then, in an hour?"

"Absolutely," both Sages agreed.

It was impossible to turn down someone with that much enthusiasm.

/***/

The sun sank into the dark clouds, storms swallowing up rays of sunlight before they could strike the sea-soaked beaches. Along the docks, several ships were beginning to take off. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a gloating laugh that mocked the entire group of refugees. What could be done, though? The king had demanded that they abandon their homes, and so they did. They would just have to hope that robbers were not willing to stay behind.

"Your Highness, it's time to go," one of the king's last precious soldiers informed his lord. "You still not have given us a destination."

The king's eyes were dark, his expression worn. Running away was the tactic of a coward. He was surrendering his city and his crown to that monster, abandoning his daughter to her fate. What was to be done? Where could he run? He was not such a spry young man than he could survive anywhere. Who would take him in? He narrowed his eyes, afraid to admit his thoughts.

His highness murmured, "Flanoir, perhaps? Triet? Would the Sylvaranti take us in?" He shook his head, straightening his back. "It doesn't matter anymore."

The king's subordinate stared at him, but did not question the king's detached ramblings. He nodded, "Flanoir, then. I will speak with the captain. Please, get on board." The king gave him a terse bob of his head and then entered the ship. He glanced around in awe, watching his people board all sizes and sorts of boats. How many would get lost at sea?

"Could we fit any more aboard this vessel?" The king pondered aloud.

His knight turned back to him. "Sir, we must leave immediately. We cannot—"

The king snapped around, grabbing the knight by a rim around his breastplate. "How many more?"

Thunder rolled between the two men. It consumed their conversation, leaving a dry silence. A gentle hiss emerged from the ocean as thick rain pelted its surface. The storm was starting to bear down on them. The king sighed, and then he released his knight. If they stalled any longer, they wouldn't be able to take off. Still, there was little choice in the matter. He was disgusted with his abandonment of Meltokio, but he was terrified of his own fate. Some grand leader he had become.

"Your Highness. Place faith in the Chosen and his companions," the knight's words barely escaped his helmet. "They have saved the world before. Certainly, they could save a city."

There it was. He was a potential victim, just like his daughter. A flash of lightning split the sky. Within that instant, he knew what he had to do. Perhaps he was leaving some of his citizens here, but more were going with him. He had to lead them until Meltokio was safe once more.

The king nodded. "Let us depart."

The knight saluted his king, and then left him to report to the captain. Within a few minutes, the king's ship soared off the docks into foaming waters. While his stomach rolled, the king buried his seasickness within his mind. He watched the waves and the storm obscure the continent with his beloved city, and then sink it into nature's chaos. He was wrong to leave his people behind. He should have been struck down for surrendering his daughter. And yet, fate saw it necessary to let him live.

If this was the way his reign would end, then he wished the sea would swallow him, too.

/***/

Author's Note:

This contains the last parts I could salvage from the old version of the story. From here all in, it's new content. Try to contain your excitement.


	13. Chapter 13

Regal felt as if he were dressing for his funeral.

If there had been more people, someone else to take his place…no. He still would have fought. They were his companions. It wasn't that the dread in his heart had left him. It was his pleasure to fight alongside them. They had such bright spirits and minds, an enthusiasm that changed the world. Even in his moments of doubt and weakness, his trust in them did not falter. He could not let such flames be blown out, even if he was ripped apart.

The night was dark, thick and wet with heavy rains. Shadows scattered from rolling lightning. It flashed in the mirror, in the membranes of his tired eyes. He pushed his hair back, then tied it, letting thick tendrils fall. Cold water on his face snapped him out of his thoughts.

It was time to go.

Sheena was hardly in any better condition. She sat on the corner of a guest bed, sorting seals and gems. Her knees were drawn together, ankles crossed. She only looked up when Regal knocked upon the bedroom's doorframe. She smiled, then waved him inside.

"Are you prepared?" Regal asked.

Sheena nodded. "Just about." She tapped on the bed's cover. "Come here. Got something for you."

Regal approached her, but didn't sit down. "You've done more than enough for me, Sheena."

"Oh, would you knock it off? This is important." She swatted him in the gut, trying to get him to relax.

Smiling, he sat next to her. She grabbed a chain and a ring from her side. She made a loop through the chain, then fastened it to the ring. Pushing Regal's head down, she draped the chain around his neck. She hesitated for a moment, then pulled his hair over the makeshift pendant's chain.

"Just like old times," Sheena smirked.

Sheena had slender, gentle fingers. Her summon contract rings were created to fit her. When it came to others using her rings, most of the ladies could wear them perfectly well. The men had to make do with chains around their necks to make any use of their effects. Sometimes, Presea would have to use the same tactic for her small fingers. For Regal, it felt comforting to have the cold metal and stone on his sternum—like nothing had changed.

He picked up the ring, studying its gem. "The sardonyx?"

"D-don't read too much into it," Sheena stammered. "It's storming like crazy out there. If anyone's going to get hit by lightning, it's you. So, this should protect you. P-plus, I know it affects some of your abilities, so—"

"Thank you." Regal stopped Sheena's rambling before she could turn tomato red. "What do you plan on wearing?"

Sheena slipped a scarlet stone onto her finger. "Zelos saved me from it using a fire spell. I guess that's all I know about its weaknesses. Can't go wrong with fire, right?"

Regal chuckled. "Now you are starting to sound like Lloyd."

"You!" Sheena flicked Regal on his left ear. He winced, but didn't retaliate. Sheena was a very physical person. Her hands did just about as much speaking as her mouth. If she was picking at him, that just meant she was worried about his well-being.

What that meant about the abuse she bestowed on Zelos…perhaps it was better that he didn't question it.

"I suppose it's time," Regal trailed off. "Unless you think Colette will be arriving yet tonight."

Sheena crossed her arms. "Y-yeah. No. I mean…We should go."

Neither wanted to leave. They both took a quiet breath, then stood. It wasn't much more secure here. There were no guards, no other people to watch over them. If anything, they needed to confront that beast away from Zelos' estate. Sheena nudged Regal out of her room, then exited, shutting the door behind her. She tucked two handfuls of cards away, then descended the stairwell.

Seles and the two butlers were buckling down the apartment for the evening. Both Tokunaga and Sebastian were well trained fencers. Each carried a thin sword behind their back, bowing as Sheena and Regal passed. Seles was less graceful. She had Zelos' couch flipped up, her back snug against the grand piano and a crossbow balanced on the couch's edge.

"Where did you get that?" Sheena shook her head.

"The weapons dealer was having a sale," Seles responded. "I trust you don't have a problem with me defending myself."

Regal smiled, then struggled to hide his amusement. "Well, you certainly are capable. Your coliseum days are evidence of your spirit, if nothing else."

Tokunaga's face paled. "Please, do not remind me. The young mistress had me in terrors every time she fought!"

"Just make sure you know who you're shooting at before you fire, okay?" Sheena asked.

"You don't have to worry about me!" Seles exclaimed. "Now, get out of here. And don't you come back or get yourselves killed until you find my big brother!"

Both Sheena and Regal nodded in agreement.

The ninja was the first to step into the black, wet night. Regal followed her as soon as his boots and greaves were fastened on. When the door closed behind them, the lights in the front room went out. In a dark street, the last thing the house needed was a bright beacon to summon brutes. Sheena sighed, then led the way.

Meltokio was little more than a discarded shell. The cobblestone paths were slick under their feet. Orange lights glowed above their heads, buffeted by winds and rain. Not even stars could pierce the churning, raging clouds. A bolt of lightning struck the fields outside of the city. Sheena jumped, then jolted closer to Regal. Even if she had subdued the spirit of storms, childhood terrors still struck her with every thunderclap.

The two paused to study their surroundings beneath an awning. The slightest rustle of leaves drew Sheena's attention. Regal was still, but his skin was prickled with goose bumps. His eyes were fixed on the lower quarters, his lips pulled back. Sheena caught the scent as the wind rushed up. A faint, lingering odor of death.

"Is that where it has been hiding?" Regal asked.

"It keeps escaping through the sewers, so that's more likely," Sheena explained. "I never got the nerves to go down there. I mean—you know what it's like for ambushes down there! And if you get off the beaten path…"

Regal nodded. "The catacombs alone would be a nightmare."

He took a deep breath, then stepped into the rain once more. Sheena held her right hand over her eyes. She kept to Regal's side, her eyes wandering in the darkness. He had his hands folded over the ring dangling from his neck, trying to keep it from blowing over his shoulders. Her heart shuddered, her brain trying to find shackles where there were none. She looked forward, trying to forget the solemn grimace in his face.

The winds slowed as they descended into the slums. They twisted Sheena's sash, pink trails fluttering to the earth. A familiar rotting scent hit them. One lone lantern swayed in the storm, then went free of its bindings. It crashed next to Sheena. The ninja leapt away. Without that one light, the entire district was lost to the torrential storm.

"Where did the rest of the lights go?" Regal screwed up his face. "I suppose that is a foolish question."

Sheena took his right hand. "C'mon. In or out, right?"

Faint glowing from Sheena's contract rings kept them from losing each other. White lightning would flash, bathing the world in a monochromatic palette. It would fade back to black, scarlet and purple hues illuminating her hands and his chest. They rolled their feet, moving under rooftop cover and in the shadows. The least they could do was have their backs against the wall.

The stench was thick here, but the trail was weak. Rain washed the sloughed material into the drains. Scarlet streaks were across every shattered doorframe. If there had been anyone left in the slums, they were dead now. Sheena's knees felt weak. They had never even heard screaming.

"It left here," Regal spoke, his voice soft.

"We would have met it if it went into the noble's quarters." Sheena crossed her arms. "Where in the hell has it gone?"

Another flash of lightning gave the duo their path. A trail of fresh gore went up the walls barricading the slums. Sheena's heart contracted. It certainly didn't need to use human paths to get around. Regal fell back to the exit, rushing onto cobbled streets once more. Sheena followed him, his form little more than a bobbing purple light in the dark.

The trail continued upwards, over plants and walls. It thickened as they approached the front gate of the castle. Sure enough, the slime went over that, too. Sheena and Regal crept up, fearful of what they would discover. If that monster had found Seles—

They stopped short at a moon-pale horror in the castle gardens.

A white figure lay collapsed amongst hundreds of blossoms. She glowed in the rain and snapping lightning, her hair and the trim of her dress as shiny as metal. Sheena buckled, but Regal held her back. An obvious trap, yes. Effective, even more so.

"Is she alive?" Sheena whispered.

Together, they entered the garden. Crimson, sticky fluid had painted white roses red. Collapsed in the center of the garden, the pallid girl seemed unreal, a hapless victim of a cruel fairy tale. Regal knelt next to her side, then examined her pulse. There was some spark of life left to her. Even in the pouring rain, her lips were dry, face ashen. She was little more than a tiny, cracked doll that had been thrown aside.

Regal pressed his hands to the sides of her head. Soft white mana floated around him. Warm light sank into the ailing child's body. Her skin glowed, eyes opening ever so slightly. She uttered a tiny gasp. Sheena watched in amazement, envious of such gentle power. Even if it couldn't compare to channeling avatars of the elements, she had an appreciation for different kinds of artes.

Brushing back the child's hair, Regal asked, "Your Highness? Are you still with us?"

She wept silver tears in the gray rain. "I'm…sorry…"

A shadow engulfed them as a thick slab of flash burst from the abandoned cathedral at their backs. Sheena shoved the distressed princess and Regal out of its path. Even at a little over half his weight, she had a fierce strength in the face of danger. Gunk and tissue crashed into the garden, ripping white flowers into the sky. It was all they could do to squirm away from the impact.

Regal scooped up the fragile princess. He gave Sheena a wide, panicked glare. "Plans?"

"I was kind of hoping you had one," Sheena hissed.

The abhorrent force lashed out at them. Sheena dove to the left, Regal rolling to the right. It was going to be impossible to fight with layers of lace and rain whipping him in the face. He jolted to the right once more, hoping to make it as far as the dance hall. His path was cut off with another mighty slap.

"Where were you going, bub?" a low, rumbling voice threatened the cornered duke.

Sheena snarled. "Hey! Enough, okay? Just let Hilda go!"

There was another roar from the creature, waves of laughter cascading onto each other. "You would kill her if you knew what she helped me do, Sheena Fujibayashi."

Drawing her weapons, Sheena growled. "I've got bigger fish to fry."

The monster's hide had darkened, skeletal contents obscured by darkening flesh. Thick veins ran along its back, flecks of green and yellow along diseased skin. It seemed familiar to her—a plague not so easily forgotten. Exspheres popped out of its back like boils. Flanges sprouted as well, the beginnings of dozens of claws. Towards the top of its internal, shifting contents sat two dark tumors, caked with veins and shining gems.

So, maybe a little bit stronger of an opponent. No problem for a ninja.

Sheena leapt upon its toughened skin. Exspheres lit up under her feet as she ascended the creature, eyeless skulls turned upwards in the ooze. It felt like walking on wet foam—a slow sink, but nothing that could take her as long as she kept her speed up. She jumped upwards, leaving seals in her wake. Bright mana burst from her cards, tearing into the creature's infected veins.

Regal held off his assault, if only to place Princess Hilda away from the carnage. He left her under the archway to the dance hall, then launched himself off the stairs. Slick rain was nothing beneath his powerful stride. Feet flew into the air, achieving a height that only angels could outdo. He landed with such force that the sides of his boots tore through skin.

"Not bad, bub!" the monster laughed. "Both of you—really. It's nice to have a challenge for once!"

Regal caught his breath, then tumbled out of the path of a rising, skeletal claw. "You certainly are articulate!"

Such an observation drew another round of laughter from the beast. Skin snapped around the duo as the creature constructed new parts. Exspheres shimmered, then rocketed tendrils out of the beast. One flicked Regal off the monster's body as if he were little more than a common gnat. Sheena dodged another, but was picked up and tossed away all the same. She tucked her knees in, then landed in the flower garden with an awkward roll.

Lightning crackled again before the monster gloated. "I have had an epiphany. Honest to Martel herself. I've handled plenty of exspheres in my life, but nothing—nothing like this! I feel like I could crush mountains!"

A long limb jutted out of the monster's mutable body. Arches shot from the main limb, growing back like feathers. The creature smashed into the flower garden. White and red petals erupted into the air. Sheena grunted, but got onto her feet before the dark wing could strike again.

"What is that maniac talking about?" Sheena shouted as she gasped for breath.

Regal shook his head. He snorted once, then charged after the oozing creature. His heels drew gouges out of its side. One clawed hand reached for him, then a barrage erupted forth. His heart caught in his throat at the sight of such familiar hands. Two fingered, thickly jointed, ending in ghastly wide and sharp nails. The hands of those infected by the corrupting influence of an exsphere. It raked across his arms, sending the duke crashing shoulder-first into cobbled streets.

"Why ask questions that you already know the answer to?" the monster cackled. It let the ninja approach her dazed friend before he rushed her. Gnarled claws landed around her slender torso. She slapped two seals against them, then kicked it back. The cards exploded midair, splintering the hand in two.

"C'mon! No guesses?" The monster laughed again. "What's the most powerful exsphere you've ever seen, Sheena?"

Sheena's stomach twisted as she realized the answer. "The one from that Angelus project. Lloyd's—you bastard!"

One of the dark tumors throbbed at the name. Sheena's knees locked up. It had subdued Lloyd—devoured his being, wired itself into his exsphere. Her friend was little more than a conduit for that beast's power. Her spirits crashed to the ground when she realized what that meant about the second tumor. As the ooze sprouted a second sickly wing, she screamed.

Neither wing was strong enough to lift the mutating creature from the ground. It was powerful enough to split stone, though. Both wings came crashing down on top of the shocked summoner. She shrieked as a third force knocked her out of the grievous attack. She stopped rolling, landing beneath Regal's body as they came to a halt. He leapt off her prone form, then dashed back into combat. The horror of his friends' subjugation did little to stop him.

"You coward!" Regal roared at the slithering monstrosity. "Must you humiliate them, too?"

The monster choked on its own laughs. "Regal! Do you even know what humiliation is? Humiliation is being murdered by a child! It's being tossed aside like some bit-part player in filthy waters! It's having access to the world's greatest powers, but never getting to use them!"

Lightning crackled, but not from the sky. Regal leapt upon the stem of one wing. Contact from his greaves made lightning splatter across the freshly sewn skin. He ascended once, then crashed down, snapping the bony aperture in two. At such a display of strength, Sheena snapped out of her fear. There was nothing cowardice was going to do to save her friends.

A dark, angry power burst in her core. Such fire could only be quelled with more fire. She drew a red seal, then left it spinning freely in the air. Concentrated her rage into her card, she let energy leap from her fingertips. Such powerful magic was amplified by the tiny paper in front of her.

With a hearty banshee's shriek, Sheena summoned the billowing tyrant bound to her will. "I call upon the red giant, the ruler of hell fire! I summon thee. Come, Efreet!"

Fire blossomed above the castle of Meltokio, bright as the midday sun. Rain and lightning hushed in its presence. A red djinn tore through the atmosphere. With massive fists, it brought its power into the courtyard. Such strength blasted through the center of the mutating beast. It exploded into two even chunks of smoldering flesh.

The air grew cold in Efreet's disappearance. The dark, oppressive storm was much stronger for the fire spirit's absence. Sheena braced her knees, trying to catch her breath. Regal fell to her side, pulling her upright with his uninjured shoulder. Summoning always left her torched, doubly so with Efreet's power.

Burnt flesh sloughed off the two balls of ooze. Exspheres reached for each other, synaptic tissue weaving between each point like a snarled spider's web. Weird armatures reached between the two halves, binding each other together again. Black-gloved fingers broke the surface of sickened flesh, disappearing between slimy folds before either Sheena or Regal could reach it. Infected tissue began growing anew, shielding the tumors that held Lloyd and Zelos fast.

"Nice move, little lady," the monster taunted Sheena. "Now, let me show you what I can do with your boyfriend."

/***/

Author's Note:

Whoopsy-doo. Ran a little long on this fight scene.

For that one guest who asked—yes, I am receiving your reviews! Sorry the mobile app is being a pain. Guest reviews always take a few days to show up, but I do get them. Thank you for posting them!


	14. Chapter 14

For a ninja, playing games like avoiding the floor was pretty standard. All kids in Mizuho went through a period where they would navigate the village doing nothing but jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Now, such agility was vital. Stones bubbled beneath Sheena's feet as embers rushed up from the ground. Both she and her ally leapt for cold ground as fire mana erupted from the ground.

Then kept exploding.

Even if all the monster knew was Zelos' spells, it had thousands of exspheres to amplify his skills. What was middle-of-the-road magic cleaved the street in half. Bubbling rocks rained down on the duo. It took all of Sheena's speed and an awkward dodge to get clear of that move.

"That's not fair!" Sheena huffed. "I've got to work for my magic!"

The rolling, sputtering man-eater chuckled at the frustrated ninja. "Who said anything about fighting fair, hunny?"

Such a word sent sparks through Sheena's brain. "Don't you dare call me that!"

She jumped onto its back once more. Flanges reached up to snatch her heels. She snarled, then swatted them back. She took a seal with a sticky back, then slapped it against the oozing tendrils. Instantly, green mana flowed to her. If nothing else, it was very easy to leach power out of a beast this size.

Four hands twisted out of the front of the monster. They unfurled in a floral spiral, reaching towards the two combatants. Where Sheena went over, Regal went through. One caught him by the ankle, but snapped as he twisted it around. With two more sharp kicks and a slam into the creature, he pulverized the growth.

The air trembled as winds kicked up. Rain molded into piercing arrows. The sudden turbulence caught Sheena off guard. She shrieked, blasted away from the monster. Strong hands saved her from planting face-first into cobblestone. She hopped out of Regal's arms, then got her second wind. Her sleeves and sash were tattered, but she withstood the shredding.

"Man," Sheena huffed. "Where were you when I was falling down trap doors in Sylvarant?"

Regal sighed. "Sitting in a jail cell, no doubt." He offered her a small smile. "For our friends' sake, it's better that we never met before then."

"No kidding," Sheena laughed.

A new burst of limbs erupted from the slimy creature. Regal held his ground, shielding Sheena as he braced for the impact. Red forces ignited around him, the air quaking at the power emerging from his exsphere. Gore blasted away in all directions. Sheena took the opening he gave her, then struck with another bursting seal. Little slugs rushed back to their master, thoroughly shamed by the duo.

Their offense was short lived. A crunch came from the lower quarters. They watched the inn collapse in the lower quarters. Tearing through it was a second putrid nightmare. Regal balked. Sheena pushed him back as dark slime rushed up the entrance to the castle. This creature was smaller, packed with debris. Gray and blue uniforms wrapped in the mess caught their eyes.

"The one from Altamira." Regal shivered, his heart palpitating.

Sheena snarled. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Black and red tides folded together. Sheena shrieked as infected tissues were buried beneath new flesh. She rushed the melding creature. Regal snatched her out of harm's way before she could be consumed by the merging bodies. She fought his grasp, reaching for the diseased lobes that held her friends captive.

"Took you long enough," the monster scolded itself. "You've got some explaining to do."

Sheena looked up, catching the lightning that flashed in Regal's eyes. She took the arms around her stomach, then gave them a squeeze. There was no way she was going to let that stoicism crack in her presence. He grimaced, but relented, letting her return to the ground. If she was going to raise a sword, he had no choice but to be her shield.

What had been a cascade of power was now an ocean. The monster slammed down on the duo's position. Even a near miss was enough to send them hurdling aside. Tides drove them apart, shoving Sheena into the garden and Regal into bricks. She kicked against it, flesh as sticky as tar sticking to her arms. She couldn't let it take root. With another Pyre Seal, she rebuked the tide.

"C'mon!" Sheena snarled.

Regal took her taunt as his own command. He snarled, then pressed his arms against the brick wall. With another burst of mana, he pushed through the garnet tide. Gore trailed behind his heels as he launched into the main mass of the beast, lighting churning through flesh. He pulled back once more, then dove at the creature.

A second bright light followed his trail.

Both Sheena and Regal were caught off guard by the new combatant. Projectiles littered across the surface of the beast. Dozens of hammers, electrical balls, and tiny stars shot against its flesh. As Regal fell back, she ascended. Liquid arms reached for the ascending pink angel. She cut them back with two throws of her golden chakram.

"Colette!" both Regal and Sheena shouted.

Like always, the first words out of her mouth were, "I'm sorry!"

"Glad you're back!" Sheena cheered.

As the trio united in combat, Colette spilled her guts. "Presea and the Sages will be here shortly! We just arrived a few minutes ago. There was this big fireball, and Genis said it had to be you summoning something, and then Presea saw another slime thing in the ocean, and—"

Regal panted. "How do you have enough breath to speak?"

"Whoops! Got carried away!" Colette unleashed another barrage of miscellaneous items. "Anyway! How are you guys doing? And where's Lloyd and Zelos?"

Sheena and Regal groaned. There was going to be no easy way to tell her what unfortunate peril her friends were in. Sheena took care of that task while Regal sustained their attack. "They never came home last night. These monsters started using Zelos' spells, so—"

"No!" Colette jumped to the conclusion.

Had Sheena been half a second slower, she wouldn't have caught the speeding Chosen. "Hold your horses, Colette! We'll dig them out." She cringed as muck slammed Regal into the stairwell beneath the Martel cathedral. "Assuming we can get to them."

Colette balled up her fists, then fell back. "I will! Just give me a second."

While the flighty Chosen rushed off, another wave of slime overtook Sheena. She pulled herself out of the refuse before she sank too deeply into it. With a loud gasp, she swam free of its pull. Gelatinous flesh burned under her fingers as she cauterized a path to freedom. That had been much too close.

The cavalry came bounding in on a cold wind. Genis raised his kendama to the sky, channeling his magic through it. "Ice Tornado!" A powder-blue cyclone burst from the gray clouds. It ripped through the center of the beast, clotting up the skeletons inside of it. Ooze flowed over frozen flesh, infections ripping themselves free. A dark tumor stuck to its center. The monster's heat made tiny cracks as it tried to tap into it again.

The monster bubbled in frustration and amusement. "Cute, kid! Now, come here!"

Genis squawked as a deluge of mutant limbs reached for him. Sheena grabbed his hand. She leapt on top of a guard wall, taking the shocked half-elf with her. It was all they could do to outrun the rising and falling tides. With one last graceful leap, she rolled onto the streets, knocking back the limbs with three whacks from her flame-charged cards.

"You okay?" Sheena asked Genis.

"One minute," the poor half-elf gurgled, then threw up in a nearby bush.

Not even a bit of illness could keep his sister from beaming. "Fascinating! A creature repulsive at even an exsphere's level of comprehension!" She held her hip, trying not to succumb to her nausea too swiftly. "It's rejecting a force coming from within the monster. How marvelous! Our exspheres are attempting to preserve their symbiotic nature with us, but—oh, dear—"

Raine collapsed by the front gate to the palace. Regal took guard of her position while she collected her senses. It was impossible to hold an ocean back for long. It flicked him down another set of stairs. Raine wobbled back from it, limping as it tried to snatch her.

Both settled next to a shocked girl. Presea wasn't ascending the steps to join her friends. She was stiff, eyes locked up. It was as if she was lost to the rest of the world. A terrible pain burned in her chest. She held her hand over her key crest, then closed her eyes. She wasn't about to go up there without becoming immune to its fearsome presence.

"Presea?" Regal addressed the stunned child.

"Can't you hear them?" she asked.

Raine tipped her head, wiping her chin clean. "Hear what?"

Presea's fists tightened. Of course, they couldn't hear the din upstairs. She could hear exspheres chatter and cursed weapons speak. Now, all she could hear were hungry howls. In the center of such a cacophony, she could hear the choked gasps of her subdued companions. Lloyd and Zelos, no doubt. Even louder yet was—

Presea stiffened when she realized her friends could hear the next scream from the beast. "Presea!"

Her heart trembled. "I-It can't be…"

Fear and sickness spilled out of her. She collapsed to her knees, letting her illness run its course. Both Raine and Regal knelt next to her. Raine rubbed her back, shooting Regal a confused glare. Regal grimaced in return. What had taken him days to learn had taken Presea only seconds. With such terrifying, painful memories now rushing through her mind, it was no wonder she was trembling.

Regal hesitated, then placed a hand on Presea's left shoulder. "He fears you too, Presea." He nudged Presea onto her feet, then squeezed her shoulder. "You can stop him again. Even if you falter, we won't let him take you."

"I know," Presea nodded. "I'm counting on it."

Whatever troubles had been going on between the two were inconsequential in the fight. They rushed together to join the fray once more, brother and sister in arms. Raine collected herself, then followed in their path. If someone was going to fight, she needed to make sure they had the best protection she could offer. She raised her staff to the sky, then called on her healing powers. "Revitalize!"

As the blue aura mended the wounds of the team, Genis got back into action. He dusted his knees off, then prepared another spell. "Okay, Colette. This one's for you!" With a wink, he lodged an electric sword into the monster's hide. "Thunder Blade!"

The resulting shot gave Colette the opening she was looking for. With a scream, she dove into the monster's crispy, weakened flesh. "Lloyd!" Like an arrow through gelatin, she pierced through the wound. Sheena shrieked as the insane Chosen disappeared into congealing flesh. It was a brave tactic, yes. Brave, but stupid.

"She's lost her mind!" Raine shouted. Groaning, she whipped up another spell. "Might as well give her a chance. Holy Lance!" Spears of light rocked the creature, jamming through networked tissue and tumors. Pus ebbed up as a dark blotch cracked open.

Before Presea could come to anyone's aid, she knew that she would have to give her offensive power a sharper edge. She tapped on Sheena's shoulder. "May I ask for your assistance?"

"You've got it! What do you need?" Sheena asked.

"Celsius' ring," Presea said. "Genis thought it might have a weakness to ice."

Genis smirked, then whipped up another icy blast. "And I was right, too! Icicle!"

Sheena reached into her robe. She found another chain, then looped Celsius' Sapphire onto it. With a quick click, she locked the clasp around Presea's neck. The quiet girl bowed her head, then took an offensive stance. Now, she had a shot.

"Presea…" the monster whined. "It's been—ooo! So long…Aah, that little angel is a hot one."

Presea didn't have much to say towards her foe. "Don't waste my time."

"But we—urgh! Have some catching up to do," the beast laughed at her. It gave an awkward squelch, then burped up tiny balls of light.

"What's left to say?" Presea growled. She raised her axe, then cleaved a thick arm growing towards her face. She swung it twice more, driving the beast back.

The monster chuckled again, amused with her strength. It folded its dead refuse within itself, trying its best to reconstruct its networked fibers. "N-nothing's changed, has it? You're still a—mmm—monster, and he's still a pu-pu-pu—"

It choked on its last word as light pierced through its northern side. There was a shriek as a bloodied angel blasted through the locked doors of Meltokio's castle. Lying amongst the splinters, Colette clung onto her prize. A stilled swordsman lay in her grasp. She winced, then rubbed his shoulders, trying to get him to stir. It had taken every ounce of her strength, but she had saved Lloyd from his infected prison.

"Holy crap!" The daring rescue threw Genis out of his casting.

Raine's eyes widened. Lloyd wasn't waking up, and Colette's posture was drooping. That monster had done a number to both of them. She hopped over oncoming tendrils, trying to find a safe place to cast. "Hold on!"

She gasped as the monster pushed itself against the ground. The entirety of the creature gushed out, knocking her off her feet. Something clawed and skeletal took hold of her pants leg. With a twirl and a snap, she cracked her staff against the bone. Three more reached for the orange trails on her robes. It took the stomp of a determined duke to get her cleared from the monster's needy hands.

Lights glowed at their feet. The same force that had been bubbling out before now emanated from the exspheres. Raine braced for the blast, but didn't expect how futile that would be. Mana shot out in all directions, smashing everyone away. It felt like standing next to an exploding sun. Presea and Genis crashed into the brick walls, Sheena into a corner. Raine was thrown into a thick tree, cracking her head against bark. Regal collapsed at her feet, flowers and grass slipping through his fingers as he tried to grab onto anything. Raine's pupils were tossed further into the castle, blown into the king's chairs.

"That…was…" Genis wheezed, then passed out cold.

Presea crawled onto her knees. She stood up once more on shaky feet, then protected the unconscious half-elven child. Her axe was dragging on the ground, icy powers freezing blooms in her wake. Sheena wobbled behind her, seals dangling from her hands. There was little fighting spirit left in her, but she was prepared to burn it all.

The elder Sage was fairing no better than her brother. Regal patted her face, trying to get her to wake up. Matted white hair trailed blood down his fingertips. He grimaced, then placed a hand over her wounds, channeling the last of his healing power into her. It was enough to mend her injuries, but not enough to bring her out of her unconsciousness. His larynx cracked, despair going unchecked. By the time she would recover, everyone else would be little more than smears on empty cobblestone streets.

Blood pounding in Sheena's head gave her no time to think. The berserk fury that overtook her was nothing like her summoning rages. It was an angry, tremulous fear. She collected the last of her strength as Presea went to war, watching the child swing away as if she had nothing left to lose. Sheena screamed, then joined the axe-wielding girl.

Rocks jutted beneath Presea's feet. She shrieked as they leapt around her in towering spires. Thick hands and jagged wings surged out of the beast, reaching for the child with hungry, murderous intent. Sheena weaved through the jutting stones, making sure none would touch the girl's side. She couldn't let that creature have her. Not after Colette's search—not after Zelos' capture—not after—

A strike as sharp as a sword's blow struck Sheena. She flew through the chewed-up courtyard, landing on her back. She howled as she moved onto her hip. Blood was welling up below her chest. Her exsphere burned like shattered glass in her wound. She shrieked again as fluid nerves from the man-eater pierced her chest, digging into her key crest.

"Sheena!" Presea cried.

Having downed the hapless assassin, the full force of the beast turned against its most wanted prey. She screamed as slime seized her, swallowing her whole. All she could sense were sobbing and cackling exspheres. She raised her hand to her throat, hoping Sheena's icy ring would deter them from reaching into her exsphere. She couldn't breathe. Presea's knees gave away as her axe slipped from her fingertips.

There was a roar in the bleak storm, warped as it reach through the monster's skin and into Presea's ears. "Stop! Let them go!"

The monster mocked the last fighter. "Why? I've been looking forward to killing these gnats all week!"

"Spare them, and..." Hesitance stopped up the low voice. "I'll make it worth your time."

"Well, you know me. I'll do anything if the price is right," the man-eater chuckled. "So, what's your offer, bub?"

/***/

He was going to freeze to death.

Zelos wrapped his hands around his bare upper arms. He sank into the snow, unable to walk. His friends lay still around him, bruised and battered. He had to get them onto their feet before the next terror moved across the frozen plains of Flanoir. Martel spare them all if one of those giant worms found them.

He reached through the snow, trying to feel for a life bottle. Raine needed it. If he could just get it to her…

A stranger's words came through the biting winds, fragmented into barely comprehensible pieces. "—mine, huh, bub? Don't make me…"

"It's true that…" another voice began. "However…to reach those…my eyes and vocal…"

Zelos snapped his head up. He could see two gray shadows in the white snows. The first was disproportionate, rounder than he was tall. The second was too young. His heart slowed, wondering why he thought such a thing. Maybe it was the length of the second's hair. He'd always known it to be so long. The only time he'd seen it trimmed like that was…

How long ago had that been? Eight years? A decade?

Rolling laughter made the drifts shake. "Then, it's settled! I'll take...and they'll go free. Well, until they...you know how they will be. You're just postponing their deaths." The first shadow's voice became somber, threatening. "That other fool…to let such a catch go…I won't make that mistake."

"I know," the second shadow nodded.

Zelos' skin prickled. He lurched upright, reaching for the second shadow. His gut twisted in pain, his mind racing to stop what ludicrous bargain was being struck. Stumbling, knees bowed, Zelos shouted at the second shadow. "Don't!"

The second's head turned, his eyes soft and weary. "Zelos? You can hear me?"

"Whatever you're doing, stop!" Zelos shouted.

The familiar voice hitched. Zelos' demands hit him in the heart. The shade froze on the icy banks, resolve shattering. The same pain in his chest reflected back to the pleading swordsman. The redhead clutched his exsphere, fear burning in the snowy plain. Zelos' eyes widened. He knew this trembling panic, the fear of a foe's toxic blade pressed against tender necks.

"Protect them," The second shadow bowed to Zelos. "I'm sorry…I wasn't strong enough."

The first shadow erupted into flowing mana. It became wider than any worm in Flanoir's continent, endless and powerful. Zelos hollered at it as it consumed the second shadow. The two became one black, rolling mass. Zelos' mind ached as flicking tendrils around his brain networked into the new exsphere at the creature's disposal. Power and sorrow engulfed him all at once. He fell to his knees, massaging his throbbing skull as the second shadow poured his fears into Zelos' consciousness.

A pain that didn't belong to Zelos lanced through his gut. Gentle blood ran down his hands. He collapsed into the snow, tormented by memories of abuse and undeserved kindness. He raised his hands, then howled at the blood and bonds that ensnared his resolve.

No, not his.

Zelos' mind crashed, unable to resolve painful contradictions.

/***/

Author's Note:

Initially, this section had an introduction that detailed how much of a crappy driver Colette is. I cut it for length, as I thought it was more important to inflict pain on Zelos at the end.

I originally had no plans for this twist. Always had the same culprit in mind, but not how a bad confrontation would break down. It came about as an event I witnessed while playing the HD re-release. Funny how you forget little things, and they become lightning rods for plots. Had I had previous plans for this, I probably would have redone the Altamira section. But, I couldn't think of another way to keep the same intensity and get Regal involved in the plot, so here we are.

Hope it's still effective!


	15. Chapter 15

Reality was bitterly cold.

He could hardly open his wet, sticky eyelids. Blue ice cocooned him. Droplets of water dripped onto his face as cracks in the ice began to melt, hot rain piercing through. The oppressive, sickly heat and slime that had held him captive were gone. He could breathe again. His breath was hot against his frozen prison, his stomach and lungs filled with poison. It dribbled from him, then came out in one heave.

Zelos pressed against the icy walls, wondering what this was. Miniature cracks blossomed at his touch. Nervous tissue was trapped in the ice's grip, dead flesh and lifeless exspheres abandoned. He flicked them once, just to make sure that they were inactive. Once he was certain of that, he worked on breaking the icy shell surrounding him.

Fire arched around the icicle as Zelos released a fountain of heat from the earth. Water and dead tissue fell to the ground. Zelos stood on weak knees, clothes soaked with rain, ooze, and black vomit. He whipped long hair out of his eyes and took a look at where he was.

Meltokio Castle's courtyard.

He placed a hand against his exsphere. Ragged nightmares clung to the edge of his consciousness. The fears of thousands of people disappeared as he blinked. He still had dreams of Lloyd's past, memories of loving parents and small flowers. Regal's trepidations were in his heart, too. Presea needed to be helped. Raine was bleeding, and Sheena was—

He snapped around, his eyes wild. The creature was gone. Gone! All that remained around him were hunks of abandoned, dead flesh and destruction. Cobblestone streets were ripped apart. Smears of blood were against the trees, grass, and walls. Dark figures were still around him, wiped out from battle. The only moving person near him was a girl crouched to the streets, pale skin stained from combat.

In her grasp was a dying woman.

Zelos stumbled to their sides, hollering. "Presea! Sheena!" He crashed onto his knees next to them. Presea had her hands pressed to Sheena's side, trying to stop blood from flowing out. Zelos laid his hands atop the small girl's fingers, passing white mana through them.

Sheena's bleeding stopped—but not her throbbing skin.

Presea pulled her hands back. Infected veins emanated from beneath Sheena's robes. Zelos tore them open, then pushed cloth aside. His throat tightened when he found the source of the problem. Sheena's key crest was cracked, her exsphere's power corrupting her skin. Putrid, corrupted veins were growing over her chest, up to her collarbone and neck.

Zelos closed her shirt, then scooped Sheena into his lap. "Presea. She's—"

"I know," the child's voice cracked. "It would have…If Regal didn't…"

Zelos' eyes widened. Presea's face was blotched, tears mixing with blood. He was horrified at the sight. The only time he had ever seen her cry was for her little sister. He wanted to scream and weep, curl over Sheena's body and die before the exsphere's infection took her. The pain in his heart jarred him back into gear. There was no time for tears. His friends needed help.

"Get the Professor!" Zelos demanded.

Presea smeared tears away from her face. "She's unconscious."

"Revive her, then!" Zelos snapped. He screwed up his face, then shook his head. "Sorry. I've got an emergency stash of supplies in my house. Go there, and get Sebastian. He'll tell you where they are."

Presea got to her feet. She ran as fast as her short legs would carry her. Zelos stood up, Sheena dangling limply from his grasp. He carried her to the flower garden, trying to find anyone else alive in this mess. Genis was by the entrance of the noble's district. There was little more than uneasy breaths coming from him. Zelos glanced to the north, finding his sister in a heap. He knelt beside her, waiting for an impossible miracle.

"Zelos!" a second girl called for him.

The redheaded Chosen lifted his head. He saw Colette limping from the front of Meltokio Castle. Lloyd's arm was flung over her shoulder. Her eyes were welled up, but tears refused to spill down. She walked the two of them over to his side, letting Lloyd kneel beside the downed professor. His face was stained with the same foul tar that had captured Zelos, skin white and fevered.

"I-I'm so sorry," Colette stammered. "I saw it, but I couldn't—It happened so fast."

Zelos cut her apology short. "Get Genis. Presea should be back shortly. Once everyone's conscious…just break the news gently, okay?"

Colette nodded. Glancing down, she saw what disease was under Sheena's torn robes. That was enough to draw streams of tears from Colette's face. She covered her eyes, then rushed to pick up Genis. Zelos couldn't blame her. He held his fingers over the corners of his own eyes, trying not to let his fears overtake him.

Two shadows turned the corner. Zelos wanted to sink into the ground. Both Seles and Tokunaga had their arms filled with bottles and healing salves. They rushed towards the downed half-elves. Seles was shocked, eyes wide with fright. Even she couldn't smart off him after something like this.

"Big brother," Seles whispered. She knelt next to him, wiping a dirtied tendril out of his face. "Where were you? Everyone was so worried."

Zelos' laughter couldn't stop his tears. "Never thought I'd hear you say that."

His sister boiled with anger. "I should have been here to help them! I could have—"

"It's okay. Frankly, I'm glad you weren't." Zelos readjusted his hold on Sheena. He tugged her robe closed again, but it was a vain effort. He closed his eyes, his lips forced into sobbing snarl. "You need to get out of here—somewhere safe. Take Sebastian and Tokunaga with you."

For once, Seles didn't argue with him. "Okay."

A dignified voice called for the redhead. "Master Wilder!"

Zelos lifted his gaze. Sebastian was approaching him, Colette and Genis limping alongside. A sharp jolt went through Zelos' heart as he realized that his butler was carrying someone else. Dark rain pelted into grimy tatters of lace. A small, porcelain-smooth face was looking at him.

"Your Highness," Zelos addressed the broken princess.

Hilda reached for his hair. She took hold of a strand, stroking his forehead at the same time. Zelos wanted to be inferno-inducing mad at her for all of this. In the end, she had been nothing more than a pawn for a monster. His friends were hurt, captured—dying. This was her fault.

He choked on his tears. No, it wasn't.

"They saved me," Hilda croaked. Even in the rain, she sounded dryer than desert winds. "Sheena…Regal…"

Zelos nodded, but didn't speak.

"I'm so sorry." Even with little water left in her body the princess began to cry. "Please…please save them, too."

That got his attention. Zelos raised his head, wondering what Hilda had all seen. He closed his eyes, trying to stop his weeping. This wouldn't do. He had to be her hero—their hero. It was hard to hold himself together. Dry lips pressed themselves onto his forehead, anointing him with kindness. Even now, reduced to such a filthy, miserable state, the princess had a soft spot for him in her heart. He didn't know how he possibly deserved that.

He took a deep breath, then glanced at Seles. "Sis? Could you—"

"Say no more," Seles finished his thoughts. She tried to smile, but tears slipped past her eyelids. "We'll get Hilda help. Take care of that dumb bimbo."

Tokunaga put a hand on Seles' shoulder. His sister nodded, then got off her knees. She threw her arms around Zelos' head, nuzzling the center of his scalp. He sighed, then spared an arm to hug her back. Letting each other go was harder than either sibling would confess. Seles sniffled once, then summoned both butlers. They followed her down the main stairs before the empty castle, marching into the storm and bleak, wide night.

Zelos turned back to his companions. His heart ached. They all looked beaten, drowned in the rain. He gathered his strength, then lifted Sheena up. They stood with him. Their friendship made him feel almost whole. He readjusted Sheena's robes, then tried to collect his senses.

"Lloyd? Your dad still fixes key crests?" Zelos asked.

Lloyd nodded. "Absolutely!"

Zelos turned to face Raine. "Can you keep her from turning into a monster?"

"I'll do what I can. It might not be something I can stop," the teacher replied.

"Just slow her down as long as you can," Zelos ordered.

Colette's wings popped out of the aether. "I'll get the EC started. Let's hurry!"

For having the snot kicked out of her, the blonde Chosen still had her spirit. She flew out of Meltokio, zipping past broken buildings and arches. Lloyd tore after her, not one for letting his best friend get out of his sight. Both Sages flanked Zelos as he carried Sheena out of the city. Presea trailed them, quiet with her horror. She stopped only once to pluck a fallen ring from the streets, shaking with anger at the abandoned sardonyx.

Her curses were cut short by hot tears.

/***/

"Tweezers."

"Tweezers!'

Three people were gathered around Dirk's workbench. The dwarf was busy picking shrapnel out of Sheena's chest while Raine kept watch over her health. There would be an uncomfortable squelch, then a thunk as another piece went over Dirk's shoulder. His son was washing tools in alcohol, trying to sanitize everything he could. He had thrown off his clothes and changed into bare minimums, hoping to avoid contamination from the slime drenched on them. Not even his own weariness would stop him from trying to save Sheena.

All Zelos could do was sit on the stairs and watch.

"Cloth. Alcohol."

"Got it!"

Colette and Genis didn't have the stomach to watch such a desperate surgery. Presea sat with Zelos, weeping quietly into his dirty duster. She had fallen asleep with his arm wrapped around her, Volt's ring still clenched in her hands. His heart crumbled for the girl. To her, losing Regal was severing the last tenuous connection she had to her sister, a loving family denied to her by the parasitism of exspheres and the greed of mankind. Even nestled into his side, she was lonely. There was little he could do to take away her sorrow, save for providing a warm side to sleep upon.

Dirk took a ruler from the side of the table. "Lloyd. Thirty-eight millimeter."

"Got it," Lloyd replied. His fingers trailed over a pile of cleaned key crests. It didn't take him long to find a matching mount.

Sheena groaned, unconscious but squirming. Raine whispered to her. White mana flowed from her, stabilizing the pained ninja. Zelos' stomach churned at her moans. What he wouldn't give to take her pain away. There was no better healer for this operation than Raine, but damned if he didn't wish to be at that workbench, holding Sheena's hand and speaking soft words.

"Hold that back," the dwarf demanded the half-elf. "There. Keep the skin taut. Should be but a minute."

There was a delicate click as Dirk set the key crest. He took a clean towel, then mopped up the blood around Sheena's wounds. Raine channeled her powers again, sealing the wound shut. Zelos sat upright, hoping to see progress. The skin was whole, but still scarred. Veins slowly began to contract.

"She'll need time to rest." Dirk lifted her back. With a whistle, he demanded Lloyd's attention. His son passed him a roll of bandages. While the dwarf worked, he continued his prognosis. "Awfully close to her heart. You'll need to keep vigil. It may give out on her, if she rejects the crest."

Raine nodded. "I'll do what I can for her."

Zelos got off the stairs, picking Presea up. He stepped out of the line of traffic. Lloyd carried Sheena upstairs, the front of his black tank top smeared with her blood. Zelos lowered his head, and Lloyd echoed the gesture. A silent thank you, from one man to another. Raine rushed past him, swift to start her monitoring.

"Ay, lad. You look drained," Dike addressed Zelos.

Zelos lifted his arms. "Got a bed for this one?"

"Just bedrolls. Hope that will do," the dwarf replied.

At that moment, Zelos would have taken a mound of hay.

/***/

There was little any of them could do until Sheena regained consciousness. Raine kept a constant watch over the woman. Even her care did only so much. The group's worries manifested in weird hypotheses. What if her exsphere was broken, too? What if the monster absorbed her mind? What if she still turned, or if she never woke up?

It was all in the air, and Zelos needed the ground.

He did the only thing he could do—laundry. Not that he liked to wash his own clothes, but there wasn't a lot of choice in the matter. Lloyd's clothes fit a little too snuggly for him. Iselia wasn't known for its good sense in fashion, either. All he could get were basics. He needed to feel like his own person. Scrubbing grime out of his pink duster was a good start.

Zelos never thought he would appreciate something as backwoods as a washboard. The ridges felt good on his skin. He beat the heck out of his duster, then squeezed cold water from it. Black and red stains gave way to soft pink tones. He smiled, then hung it out to dry. It would have the woody scent of the forest in it before too long. At least the summer winds here weren't loaded down with rain.

As he went to work on his gloves, Colette and Presea joined him. Neither of them had much to work on. Colette had visited her father in Iselia, but wanted a little time on her own to think. Presea needed companionship. The poor girl had hardly spoken. Not even a decent night's sleep had helped her.

"Morning, ladies." Zelos tried putting his charm on, hoping it would help them all cope. "Taking a stroll through the woods?"

Presea nodded. "I suppose."

"Genis is working on breakfast. Omelets! Are you going to be up for it?" Colette asked.

Zelos' stomach churned. "I don't think I can handle that right now. Sorry."

"That's okay. Lloyd said the same thing." Colette patted him on the shoulder. "Genis is going to make miso soup after that. He thinks that might be easier for you two to eat. Maybe…maybe Sheena will smell it, too."

Zelos lowered his head, but smiled. Poor Colette wasn't handling the situation much better than he was. She was so strong when it came to wearing a mask of happiness. He found her resolve compelling. Even if he was prone to the same behavior, he always did it to achieve a mischievous goal. She did it because everyone was counting on her to be their cornerstone.

"Say, Colette? If no one's told you yet—thanks for all you've done," Zelos said.

Colette's face beamed. "You're welcome! I'm just glad I could help." She hid her eyes, trying not to show her pain. "Although…I feel like I could have done more."

Zelos shrugged. "There's always room for improvement, I suppose. Still, you rock. Going around the world, getting our friends, coming back in the nick of time and saving Lloyd? I don't know why you didn't sleep in today!"

"I just couldn't. You ever just wake up, and can't get back to sleep?" Colette asked. She rubbed the back of her legs. "I woke up at four in the morning, and my left calf was hurting. Then, I remember how I'd always used to wake up around then anyway, but then I'd just go back to sleep. I'd always hear a door opening or footsteps. Lloyd said that was always when Regal—"

She winced, realizing she had said too much. She tried not to turn to face Presea, but her eyes darted. The smaller girl did not react. She turned her head towards the clothesline, watching Zelos' duster sway in the wind. Presea finished Colette's rambling, her voice soft and composed. "—when he used to train."

Zelos grabbed his gloves, then put them on the clothesline. Their friendships were going to be strained, especially if they kept dwelling on dark thoughts. He couldn't spill the agony he had for Sheena's condition, nor the dread he felt for Regal. If he thought about either of them for too long…

"We've gotten through some tough situations together, haven't we?" Zelos smiled.

"I suppose," Presea agreed.

"So, we can do it again." Zelos crossed his arms, then placed a hand on his chin. "Don't worry, my hunnies. I have total faith in you two. You're super cute and tough, and you've got the power of love on your side. So, how can you possibly lose?"

Presea glared at Zelos like that was the stupidest pep talk she had ever heard.

"Alright, alright. That was super cheesy. What do you want? It's way too early in the morning for this kind of thing," Zelos laughed. "We can beat this. So, no more tears, okay? Or I'll make Genis put bell peppers in your breakfast."

"No!" Colette gasped.

Zelos bopped her on the nose. "I totally will."

Colette's worries were cut short by pots clanging. Genis was calling everyone in for breakfast. The blonde took off, fearful that Zelos would make good on his threat. He chuckled, then followed after her. Even if he couldn't stand eating, he could at least sit and talk with them for a while. Presea walked alongside him, lost in quiet thoughts. He knew it would be harder to get her spirits raised, but he had to try.

If he couldn't give the small girl confidence, he could at least hold her hand.

/***/

It was much too hot for his dried duster. Even in the forest's breeze, Zelos felt like he was going to boil over. He took it off, then stripped his gloves from his hands. That felt relaxing, free. He thought about having Colette braid his hair back. Having his skin exposed to the elements was a sensation he had taken for granted. Breathing cool air felt like a generous liberty.

He folded his clothes, then entered Lloyd's home again. Colette, Genis, and Lloyd were catching up with each other while Presea was sharpening her axe. Dirk was busy working at the furnace. Zelos wondered how he could stand working in front of such heat all the time. He kept to himself, creeping up the stairwell to Lloyd's bedroom.

Raine was dozing in a chair next to the bed. She had finally crashed after being up all night. Sheena was tucked beneath light sheets. Her clothing had been placed on the floor. Nearly everything she wore needed mending. He nudged those clothes aside, then put his next to hers. With a light shake, he unfurled his duster.

There was no way the pink clothing was going to be decent enough. Still, he felt better if Sheena could have it. She would be furious if she knew how many of her friends had seen her exposed. He tucked his duster over her, then stepped back. At least she would have a little more comfort while she slept.

He turned to head downstairs when he heard soft admiration. "That's kind of you, Zelos."

"Ah, well. You know me. Always a lady killer." Zelos knew times were rough when anybody complimented him. He grabbed the stained rags on the ground, then went out to wash them. "Take care of her, Raine."

Raine smirked. It was clear that she wasn't doing that job alone.

/***/

Author's Note:

I once read in what I think was a 4Koma comic about where Sheena and Raine's exspheres were, and Zelos got…well, excited, frustrated, something in between about how they were in very intimate places. Not sure if you'd call that canon or not, but it's an interesting idea.

Though, when I check a map of Aselia, it would have made more sense to go to Altessa's than Dirk's. Ah, well. Maybe wrapping around the bottom of the world would have sped things up.

(Of course I read the reviews you all send in! I love them, but I feel bad to ask for them!)


	16. Chapter 16

No matter where she was, the wind would guide her.

She felt it trailing like gossamer silk through the night. It brushed across her warm face, over her collarbone. She rolled to face it, wrapping her hands around a pillow. With a deep sniff, she sighed. This was okay. She felt safe here.

The pillow smelt wrong, though.

Sheena pushed herself onto her elbows. That smelt like Lloyd. Not a bad scent, but surprising. She figured out why that was pretty fast. She was surrounded by thick lumber and vines growing out of the walls. Dirk's house. And she was sleeping in—

Her face flushed red.

"Good evening," her bedside attendant greeted her.

Sheena smiled. "Hi, Raine." She sat up, clinging to the cloth over her chest. That smelt off, too. She looked down, then went full crimson. That idiot Chosen! What was he doing throwing his laundry on her? She pushed it off, then immediately pulled it back up. She had no idea she was this exposed.

"I…uh, hope you've got an explanation," Sheena stammered.

Raine nodded. She stepped out of the rocker where she had been sitting, then picked up two piles of clothing from the floor. "Here. I brought you some clothes. Yours are in rough condition, but—"

"I'll take what I can get." Sheena bobbed her head. "Thanks."

The half-elf turned around as the human got dressed. They were close enough in size, but Sheena's endowments made the blouse awkward. She had to leave an extra button undone. She flipped through her old clothes, but gave up on them. There were too many tears. Sighing, she threw Zelos' duster over herself. It was a little extra protection, at least.

"Your key crest was damaged in the fight last night," Raine explained. "Zelos and I were able to get you stabilized, but it had to be replaced. Dirk and Lloyd took care of that. Since then, we've been waiting for you to wake up. How are you feeling?"

Sheena bristled. "Little irritated. You know where my exsphere is."

"Yes. And now, so do the rest of your friends," Raine teased.

"You wouldn't be laughing if it was your boobs on display!" Sheena roared.

Raine smiled, but shook her head. "Zelos tried to keep you covered up as best as possible. Nobody took any joy from the situation, given your condition."

"That's still not helping!" the banshee continued to shriek.

"Don't worry, hunny. I'll always be interested in your chest."

Sheena could have thrown hammers at the face peeking over the stairwell railing. He had that stupid smile on his face, like if nothing in the world was wrong. No gloves—obviously, no duster. Just a smirk, a tank top, and his white pants. They were coated with fine dirt at the bottom, but they were mostly blood free. He was content to see her, his eyes sparkling in the low light.

"You know, the others are looking forward to seeing you again," Zelos tipped his head. "Up to joining us for dinner?"

Sheena frowned. She shook her head, then nodded. "Yeah. Sure. I'll be right down."

Zelos gave her a big grin. He bounced down the stairs, shouting as he ran. "We need another chair! Got a special guest tonight!"

Sheena couldn't believe that moron. She was as pink as his duster. Raine smiled, then led the way downstairs. She looked exhausted, but satisfied. Sheena cocked her hip, wondering if Raine had been with her all this time. How bad had she been? She could hardly remember anything about that fight. Just a blurry battle, and something dark reaching for her, and then—

"Please hurry." Now Presea was snooping on her, pink pigtails peaking over the edge of the stairs.

Sheena smiled, then decided to descend the stairs. She had better go see all of them before they all came up to see her.

Eight spots had been set out around a square table. One had been left open for her. Between Zelos and Raine, of course. Presea sat back down as Colette hopped up. She grabbed Sheena around the shoulders, then gave her a big bear hug. It didn't hurt as bad as she expected, but Sheena was still sore from the operation. Raine shooed Colette back to the table, letting Sheena take her seat in peace.

They hardly spoke at all during the first few minutes together. Eating was more important at the moment. She was glad to find the meat stew went down well. She needed all the iron she could get. She looked around the table, studying how they were. Lloyd and Colette, excitable as always. Genis stammering at Presea, the latter not talking. Zelos gloating to her left. Raine to her right, talking with Lloyd's dad about managing Sheena's new exsphere.

Even with all these people around her, she felt a void.

She tried to ask the question in the gentlest way possible. "Is this everybody?"

There was a brief jolt of panic that went through the table. Sheena caught that lightning. Presea lowered her head. The ninja studied the small child for a moment, hoping she wouldn't have to coax the bad news out of her.

Presea told her the truth. "Yes. This is."

Sheena grimaced, then apologized. "Sorry. We can talk about it later."

"No. You should know." Presea wiped her face clean, then shared the bad news. "After you and everyone else were incapacitated, I was overwhelmed. Had I been alone, I would have been…" She shook her head, then got to the point. "Regal took it upon himself to rescue us by removing the threat."

"There's no way one guy can take on that monster alone!" Sheena exclaimed.

"Precisely," Presea said. "He did not do so through force."

Sheena hissed. That certainly didn't leave any good options on the table. Regal was a businessman. If he couldn't get out of a situation with physical force—well, there was his will. He could strike a bargain with anything under the sun. If he had made a fair offer…

"We need to get back to Meltokio as soon as possible," Sheena said.

Zelos shook his head. "Hunny, there's no one left there. No king, no princess, not my sister or the monster—not Regal."

"Well, where the hell is he?" Sheena cursed.

Nobody wanted to answer that question. Presea folded her hands under her chin. She was forcing herself to be calm, taking on the emotionless air that she used to have forced upon her. Genis lowered his head, feeling awful for her. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like if his sister had been similarly disposed. Something dark within him felt like he could have become the next Mithos.

"You remember rescuing Princess Hilda, right? I had my sister and our butlers take her somewhere safe. We hauled you here to get you patched up. The slime left Meltokio." Zelos stopped his explanation, then winced through the next part. "It took Regal with it."

Sheena sank in her seat. She put her hands on her brow. "That makes no sense. That damn thing was after Presea so bad. Why would it give her up for him?"

"I'm curious about that as well," Raine agreed. "Though, it seems the two of them recognized the creature. Am I correct, Presea?"

Presea lowered her gaze. So, it had to come out. She didn't know if it was better for her friends to know or not. She dusted off her skirt, then stilled the trembling in her heart. "You remember how I received my exsphere, correct?"

Zelos bobbed his head. He turned to Dirk, then began explaining her situation. "She signed up to be part of an experiment out of the Imperial Research Academy so she could be strong enough to take up her dad's job. So, a grand cardinal and an exsphere broker contacted her and ran a few compatibility tests. Rodyle and Vharley. When she passed the tests, they—wait."

"They enrolled me in the program, and as a result, I lost sixteen years of my consciousness," Presea finished his thoughts. "Then, once you all rescued me, I murdered both of them."

"Rodyle's body was left in his human ranch after the control room was locked and flooded. Then, you killed Vharley in the Meltokio sewer system, and—" Zelos' face paled. "Holy crap. It's Vharley?"

Colette shook her head. "That—that can't be possible, can it? I mean—how could that creepy monster be a dead human?"

Raine put a hand to the side of her face. "Since exspheres can carry the memory of sentient beings, it's possible that Vharely's consciousness may have survived his body's destruction. Being an exsphere broker, he would have likely had a few on hand. But, for a single exsphere to take a new form by causing cellular deconstruction of other living beings and for it to maintain that overarching personality over a network of exspheres…"

"And to have so much power with it!" Genis added. "Like, when it released all that stored energy in our last fight and all those spells it could cast. That takes a lot of control to harness all of that!"

Colette shivered. "Mithos could have done the same thing, you know."

"That's to be expected. He would have had his pick of the cream of the crop, as far as exspheres go. But, even for a broker with access to Cruxis Crystals, it would be a phenomenal feat." Raine struggled to resolve the evidence.

Zelos shook his head. "We need to start at the top. There was a monster in the Meltokio sewer looking for exspheres and eating people. It took the princess hostage and demanded to get Presea. Then, it split from itself, went to Altamira, and raided Lezareno headquarters. Lloyd and I scared it off, and it left Regal. Then, it owned all of us, got Presea in its clutches, and…let her go for some guy it had already abandoned once. Not exactly what I would do, if I were a nefarious monster who was chasing girls."

"You mean you aren't?" Sheena teased. She shook her head, then reviewed the inconsistencies. "It did already know about our names. It's kind of weird that it forgot about the Lezareno Company, now that you mention it. Sure remembered Presea, though."

"It's possible that as this creature accumulates more medium to work with, it increases its capability to remember," Raine suggested. "A brain works better with lots of solidly connected neurons. If we think about the entire creature as a hive mind, that might explain its varying memory and intelligence."

Lloyd raised his head. "Wait. Does that mean if that lead exsphere had been in Altamira, it wouldn't have left Regal?"

Raine nodded. "It may be the case. I'm just speculating."

"Why the heck would Vharley have wanted Regal, anyway?" Genis asked. "Presea was the one that killed him, after all. I doubt he had anything more valuable than—"

Lights flared in Sheena's head. She slapped her hand against the table. "The castle dungeons!"

"Ay! Don't hit my table," Dirk grumbled.

"What are you talking about?" Presea asked Sheena.

"Seles, Regal and I were going around town yesterday, trying to figure out what happened to Lloyd and Zelos. When we were investigating, Seles found out that the creature had gotten into Meltokio castle's prisons." Sheena's hands were moving just about as fast as her lips. "It left Zelos and Lloyd's weapons there, as a message to us. But it also ripped out eyeballs and voice boxes and left them there. That was a threat to Regal!"

Lloyd screwed up his face. "I'm not following here."

Raine's face lit up. "Of course! A genetic lock!"

Now, almost everyone was lost. "What?"

"It's a lock that requires enough similarities between descendants and ancestors to keep a special place safe! Just like in the legend of the Fatima dynasty!" Raine's fists were shaking as she went into a frenzied mode. "A prince with a missing eye had to enter his father's dungeon using the aid of his cousin, who had similar enough eyes to help him pass. When she was kidnapped, he couldn't get the locks opened! But his first mate's eyes had the same patterns as the king's, and it turned out that he and the prince were long lost half-brothers! So, then the prince was able to secure a giant robot, which he used to—"

"Raine! Punchline!" Genis tried to get his sister calmed down.

"Colette! Zelos! The oracle stones across Sylvarant and Tethe'alla were genetic locks. They were created to only allow you inside Cruxis' temples! But, we saw one more on our travels that we never accessed!" She threw her hands on the table, earning an irritated grunt from Dirk. "That last lock—the one that only opens to a descendant of the Bryant family—it's in the Toize Valley—"

"—Mine," Zelos jumped to Raine's conclusion. "Oh, sweet Lady Spiritua. That's it! Regal promised to let it into the lower levels of that exsphere mine! He's taking that monster straight past the doors—into Morlia Mineshaft!"

Dirk's face paled. "Morlia? No, that's…such a hell cannot exist."

Lloyd cocked his head. "Dad?"

"When I was a child, other dwarves used to speak of a place called Morlia. It was a nightmare. I always thought it was a fairy story." Dirk shook his head, scratching his beard. "They say that cursed air flows down that deep. The poison of Daemonium."

"Daemonium. Niflheim." Raine clarified for her students. "Remember? That cursed book in the Sybak library? That air…down that far, it will be overwhelming."

"So, what? Is Regal trying to poison that thing? He'll die before it—" Sheena stopped, her face now scarlet.

Raine lowered her head. "If he dies, then there would be no way for the doors to open again and the monster stays confined. If no other member of the Bryant line exists...then the locks stay closed indefinitely. Eventually, the monster will burn itself out, or perhaps become sick from the atmosphere. When that happens, it—or whatever portion of it went down with Regal—will perish too."

"Professor! That's horrible!" Colette was furious. She shook her fists, trying not to strike them against Dirk's table. "I can't let that happen to him!"

Lloyd nodded in agreement. "Colette's right! We didn't save the world just so people could keep throwing their lives away to protect us!"

"It may already be too late, Lloyd. We might not be able to pass through the doors, either." Raine struggled to express her woes. "You don't want to hear this, and I certainly don't want to say this. But, you must understand—there may be nothing we can do to save him. We are more likely to perish in such a toxic environment than we are to escape."

"Our average at wins to losses against this monster isn't great, either," Zelos added.

"We may lose Regal, either way. But, if we don't act, then his fate is certain. I…I can't go through another loss like that." Presea stood up. She fussed with her collar, then spoke her peace. "Lloyd. Colette. I am with you. I've murdered that monster once, so I am certain I can do it again."

Genis gave Raine a pitiful look. "You know I'm not letting Presea go down there without my help."

"And I can't, either. Not without my aid." Raine shook her head, then sighed. "It was never my intention to not attempt a rescue. I just wanted you all to consider the risks."

Sheena smiled. "Then, I'm with you guys. If nothing else, maybe the spirits can help us. It's a mine, after all. Gnome's got to have some power down there."

"Whoa, Sheena. Time out." Zelos spun in his seat. He reached for her left hand, then held it in his own. "You just recovered from that monster almost turning you into another monster. You should get as much rest as possible. You're not going to be at your best."

Sheena responded to that by slapping Zelos. "Don't make me hit you!"

"Never can warn me before you hit me, can you?" Zelos winced. "Please, listen. Think this through. After last night—"

"No! You listen to me, Zelos!" Sheena went into a full rampage, her eyes flaring. "I've been with you since this disaster broke out! I've seen people hurt and killed just for some freak's entertainment! It dangled you and Lloyd in front of me—it harmed every last one of my friends—and damn it, it tried to kill me! This—this is personal. I've got to see this monster down to hell itself. You can try to shield me all you like, but I'm not letting it get away with any more blood on its teeth. You got me?"

The entire table was struck with the vehemence of her words. Zelos was numbed by her passion. She wasn't going to back down. Even if he fought to keep her confined in Dirk's home, he knew the ninja would sneak off and fight this battle on her own. He smirked, enamored with her zeal. They were both so foolish.

Zelos leaned back, then folded his arms behind his head. "I couldn't stop you even if I tried. If you're so determined to get your revenge, then I'm going to make sure I watch you do it. Or, at least, keep creeps off your back."

"Good!" Sheena beamed. She teased Zelos, grinning, "…and?"

"And I would be the world's biggest ass if I didn't help save Regal," Zelos groaned. "Geez. He's giving me a bad reputation! How am I going to get back to saving fair maidens if I keep running after dudes all the time? If I do much more of this, it'll look like I'm the head of some kind of bear protection club!"

"Ooo! I'd join that!" Colette clapped.

Presea nodded. "Me too."

"It's not what you think it is!" Zelos fumed.

Lloyd stood up, smirking and keeping his arms crossed. "I take it we are all in agreement, then?"

His father was less than impressed. He grunted, then got out of his seat. "Let me at least sharpen your weapons before you head out. Give you the best chance I can. Don't like sending my boy to hell—but heaven knows I haven't been able to stop you before."

"Dwarven vow number two, right?" Lloyd grinned.

"I'm going to regret teaching that one to you," Dirk grumbled.

/***/

Author's Note:

Sorry for the huge dialogue dump. Hopefully, you still found it engaging to read. I had to cut out another part about Lloyd and Zelos training at the beginning, which I still feel bad about! Ah, well. If there's enough interest about it, I'll put it on my Tumblr account.

Dude, you should play "Xenogears" if you haven't. Maybe "Tales of Phantasia" to catch the final dungeon going on here. Can't believe I just tied three RPGs together. Eh, more's been done, right?

Didn't know if I should use "Morlia Gallery" or "Morlia Mineshaft."


	17. Chapter 17

A sound low and coarse came moaning through the entrance to the Toize Valley Mine. It felt dark, full, dreadful. There was no machinery clinking from inside. The automated parts had come to a standstill. All that rose up was the groans of the earth, carried by bleak shadows across the faces of nervous travelers standing at its mouth.

"Suppose nobody's got a canary on hand?" Zelos asked.

Sheena wasn't having any of his goofing around. "Just shut up."

She reached into her robe, then pulled out a satchel. Several chains and rings were strung together. She gave the first chain to Presea, knowing the small child was going to be in the greatest danger. Presea stared at the dark blue sapphire for a moment, lost in thought over its color and the chilling feeling it had. Taking another necklace, Sheena placed Luna's Topaz on Lloyd. Colette and Raine would always shine in the dark, but she feared losing Lloyd to it again. The stone was insurance for his safety and her sanity.

The ninja was about to pass out Volt's Sardonyx when Zelos' fingers hooked around the chain. Squinting, the ninja asked, "Do you mind?"

"Like the stone of lovers belongs to anyone else," Zelos laughed.

Colette smiled, then raised her hands. "Aw! That's so sweet, you two!"

"That's completely not—you bunch of superstitious people." Sheena huffed, then lost her train of thought. She slipped Efreet's Garnet on her finger again, then sighed. "Genis? Raine? Colette? I don't think the last stones will work as well, but—"

"Give my sister the Turquoise and Colette the diamond. I don't need anything," Genis ordered.

Raine lifted an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, totally fine!" Genis leaned over, then mocked Zelos. "Guys don't get picky about jewelry."

The insult didn't harm Zelos' ego in the slightest. He grinned, then patted both him and Presea on their heads. "Tell me that in ten years. I think someone will have you changing your mind."

When the group gathered enough courage to enter the cave, they found defense system rendered silent. Massive columns were folded inside of the metal wall. The rotating repair device in the center of the unit was quiet, but glowing. No sentry devices had been deployed to shoo them away. The front door was shut, metal slammed down. The only sign of any disturbance was a familiar slime trail passing through the closed doors, the substance turning dark brown as it aged and congealed.

Raine approached the system. "Remarkable. It almost looks like we never touched it."

"I really, really hope it doesn't fire back up," Lloyd winced. "Last time, it almost smashed me into a pancake."

Sheena scratched her head. "I suppose I could try picking a lock on this thing. If I could figure out what it looks like."

Zelos shook his head. "C'mon. Let's not screw around with this. If you don't think we can get past this, then just call Gnome and see what he can do."

"I feel like such a chump for having to resort to this so soon," Sheena sighed.

"Well, we could always fight the wall again," Colette cheered. "I'm sure Regal will understand."

Genis' head dropped. "It's really amazing that he didn't kill us the last time we broke it."

"That's what he deserved for not coming clean to us in the first place," Zelos shook his head, arms crossed. "Now, Sheena! Let's do this!"

The ninja looked like she could have crushed Zelos' head with her mind. She sighed, then withdrew one of her seals. Leaving a rust-colored card to spin in the air, she began to channel her mana through it. The ground beneath her trembled as she made her call. "I call upon the servant of Mother Earth. I summon thee. Come, Gnome!"

The ground cracked as a round, merry creature popped out of the aether. What Gnome lacked in majestic splendor or noble disposition was made up for by his sheer power. The creature spun as he appeared, shaking dirt across the party. He adjusted the strange red ribbon-like protrusion out of the back of his head, then finally addressed his summoner. "Yo, Sheena! What's up?"

"We need your help, Gnome," Sheena began.

Before she could explain their situation, Gnome cut her off. "Well, duh. I am a summon spirit, after all. Like, one of the founding pillars of all matter. Not like I need your help or anything."

Sheena grumbled. "Will you shut up for just a second?"

Gnome groaned, but gave up. "Alright, alright. How can I help you?"

"We need you to take us past all of these gates and into Morlia," Sheena stated. "Our friend was taken here recently, and he needs our help. We think he may have headed into Morlia to poison the monster that took him hostage."

"Whoa, whoa whoa whoa. Nu-uh. Morlia is bad news for humans, you got me? Bad news." Gnome protested. "As your pact partner, Sheena, I've really gotta say no!"

Sheena screwed up her face. "You can't do that!" She turned her head to Raine, then mumbled, "I mean, he can't, can he?"

"You know what summon spirits can or can't do better than the rest of us," Raine replied.

Lloyd stepped to Sheena's side. He raised his hands, then tried dealing with the stubborn summon spirit. "My dad told me that the dwarves were terrified of that place. If you two are right, then it really is an awful place. But, we can't let Regal die down there!"

"Oh, yeah. It's absolutely terrible. Leaks miasma, filled with demons, no flowers in sight—just horrific!" Gnome exclaimed.

"Wait—demons?" Genis interrupted.

"Nobody told you guys?" Gnome shook his muzzle, then tutted. "Long, long time ago, there were a bunch of dwarves that stopped worshipping me and built a temple to praise demons. So, naturally, demons came along and wrecked up the place. They brought their stinky miasma in, smashed houses up, and did a lot of nasty things to even halfway decent people! I'm telling you guys—you do not want to go down there!"

Zelos rubbed his right temple, just below his headband. "Are you telling me that our stupid slime monster that eats everything in its path may now have demons on the menu?"

"Possibly the other way around," Gnome corrected Zelos.

Colette shook with frustration. She hopped onto her wings, then zipped into Gnome's face. "You've got to help us! Regal's our friend! He got that monster away from us, so now we've got to save him from it. It's what friends do! And Sheena's your friend, isn't she? So, please—help her!"

"Aww! Well, when you put it like that, okay!" Gnome reached a paw down, then mussed Colette's hair. "Give me a sec. I've gotta go consult with my fellow spirits."

The energetic spirit disappeared in a burst of pebbles and dust. Shaking their heads, the group cleaned the debris off their clothing. Sheena crossed her arms, frustrated that even her own summon spirits would fight her. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that stupid Gnome was of the same mold as Zelos Wilder, womanizer extraordinaire. Next time, she was going to call Celsius. At least she didn't pitch a fit when she was recruited to help.

Within a minute, Gnome popped back into existence. Three spirals of air followed him into the physical plane. Sheena raised an eyebrow, surprised with whom Gnome had fetched to help him. It was a rare day that Gnome and the Sylph sisters worked with each other. More than any other set of opposing spirits, they were the friendliest. Still, considering that they canceled out their powers, it was a strange sight.

"Hi, Sylph," Sheena greeted the three sisters. "What are you doing here?"

The eldest spoke first. "Gnome informed us that you were planning to proceed into Morlia."

"In order to help you out, we have cast an air purification spell around you all," the second continued.

Sheena smiled. "Wow! That's amazing! Thanks, ladies!"

"If Gnome gets uppity again, call us! We'll put him in his place!" the third shouted.

Gnome's entire body jittered. "Man, I get no respect around here!"

The three sisters blasted into the spirit realm again, waving as they took off. Both Sheena and Colette waved back. Genis rolled his head to the side, a little embarrassed with how affectionate they could be sometimes. He got the entire party back to business by addressing Gnome. "So? Are you going to take us down there or what?"

"Yeah, yeah," Gnome grumbled. "Hold onto your butts!"

The summon spirit of earth raised his stubby arms, then slammed them into the ground. Earth disappeared beneath the party. Six shrieked as they fell into a rushing tunnel. Colette gasped, then dove after her friends. As the earth parted around them, they slid faster, rolling and crashing into each other. All any of them could do was clutch onto each other.

They came to an abrupt halt. The earthen tunnel spat them onto hard rock. It closed up behind the group, sealing off their only viable exit. Zelos groaned, then wiped dirt stains off his backside. Leave it to that stupid Gnome to put them on a wild ride. Not even the roller coasters in Altamira had anything on what he just experienced.

"Well, that was fun," Genis groaned. "Ah, man. I think I broke my coccyx."

"Hey, now! Don't be talking about that in front of the ladies!" Zelos chided the young sorcerer.

Genis fumed. "That's my tailbone, you idiot! Geez, and you graduated from the Imperial Research Academy?"

"This really isn't the best time to be fighting, guys." Sheena dusted herself off, then looked around. "What are we even looking at?"

They were clumped together on an outcropping. In front of their faces was a gigantic chasm. It was dark, endless in the low light, clogged with ebbing mist. All that was around them to help them see were glowing stones long since abandoned. Not quite exspheres—not really like any substance they had ever seen. Sheena poked one of the lamps, surprised when they glowed brighter at her gentle touch. Left all around them were rotten planks, bare skeletons of abandoned homes. Not even wisps of cloth remained. Metalwork and stone carvings stood throughout time, undamaged save for an errant quake.

"This is incredible!" both Lloyd and Raine shouted.

The student and teacher exchanged glances. There was wild energy shared between them. Raine was giddy, her smile bright and wide. "Lloyd! You're actually interested in these ruins?"

"Absolutely! This—this looks like what my dad does!" Lloyd rushed towards a statue, then pointed at its face. "Look at this. The stone on this guy's robes has been cut so thin that you can see light through it! The Spiritua statue my dad created had the same glow to it!"

"And the eyes are absolutely perfect. They follow you as you walk around it!" Raine grabbed her student by his hands, then dragged him to the pits edge. "Look at all those houses! Can you imagine the kind of infrastructure needed to go up and down all those levels?"

Lloyd nodded in agreement. "Look—there's part of a stone walkway here. The rest must have fallen into the pit. And look over there! Granite stairs. Man, they must go up and down forever!"

The remaining party members were dazzled at the duo's energy. Never before had there been such harmony between the two. Colette gave a nervous chuckle while Sheena and Genis groaned. Zelos crossed his arms, then shook his head. Presea was similarly displeased, though she remained stationary. She gave Genis a pitiful look, hoping he would sort out his sister's misplaced enthusiasm.

"Say, Raine? Could you two look at this later? Kind of got an important problem to fix," Genis interrupted his sister's spiel.

Raine snapped her head up. While she was so easily distracted with old, abandoned places, she could get right on track. "Right. Of course." She turned to Lloyd, then bobbed her head back to the group. "We'll have to get permission to come down here again. This place must be excavated!"

"Absolutely!" Lloyd agreed. He glanced above his head, then began asking critical questions. "So, why were we dumped here? And how are we going to get back out?"

"Once we get Regal, we can ask him to get us out of here. I mean…assuming we can." Sheena shrugged, then gave a short sigh. "Worst case scenario, I call Gnome back."

Zelos tapped a finger against his chin. "And for why we're here, of all places…"

Well, the man-eater had to be around here somewhere. It smelt awful down here, but in a strange, new way. The stench of rotten, infected flesh was paired with the poisonous reek of sulfur. Wooden boards were clacking each other, the remaining bridges swaying precariously. Not the kind of passage a giant slime monster could take. Zelos cringed, then walked towards the edge of the rock outcropping. Black ooze dripped over the side.

He backed away, whispering. "I think it's in the pit."

Sheena's face went white. "What—are we supposed to jump down there?"

"I can scout it out!" Colette volunteered. Pink wings shot out of her back once more, and she rushed off the ground.

Raine caught her eager student by her collar. "Hold on, Colette. You shouldn't go down there alone. You may be easily overwhelmed."

"Well then, Zelos can go with her," Lloyd smirked. "After all, he's still got his wings, too."

Zelos could have choked his fellow swordsman. "No way, man. I am not flying down into a death trap. Do you have any idea what kind of terrible thing is waiting for us down there?"

Lloyd shook his head. "No, but that's why you're going to help Colette check it out."

"You know, I know you have big, stupid angel wings as well," Zelos hissed.

"Eh, that happened just the one time." Lloyd grinned, then rocked his head from side to side. "Think about it being like when you jumped into the sewers a few days ago."

Zelos sighed, then turned to Colette. Well, his hunny did need him, after all. It was hard to turn down such a sweet face. With a long groan, he gave up. Orange wings fanned out from behind him, enveloping him in warm mana.

"Okay, my cute Colette. Let's go see what's in the death pit." Zelos put on his bravest, cheekiest face.

The two Chosens rushed into the pit. Colette was such a perfect little flyer. She went slow and easy, but zipped around when she felt the need. Zelos hated the sensation of controlled falling, but he learned to adapt to in his own ways. He flipped on his back, letting his wings flutter embers past his arms. He watched faces grow tiny and indistinguishable as he and Colette sank into the mist.

Green auras surrounded the two, pushing the toxic miasma away. Even now, the spirits protected them as they descended. Their hearts pounded, lungs almost too nervous to breathe. Something was trembling below them. Mist stirred in its small movements. It wasn't until the two Chosens were on top of the moving item that either of them had the slightest inkling of what it was.

Below their feet lay the debris of a fallen city. Spread throughout its buildings and over dilapidated roofs were hunks of clotted flesh. It surged, shivered, convulsed in its illness. The monster was swallowing the whole city, broken into dozens of fetid orbs, bat wings fluttering beneath skin stretched much too tightly. The clumps of ooze were kept in stiff peaks, populated sparsely by thick, glowing growths. Colette reached a foot down, touching the surface of one strange growth. It slid beneath her feet like oil.

"This can't be it," Colette whispered.

Gathering his courage, Zelos rushed around the pit. The sick flesh rose up like yeast-filled dough. There were black and yellow channels running just below its skin. Some of the tissue had gone dark green, especially around the glowing boils on its skin. The whole of it looked infected, sick, shaking.

"Let's get back to the others," Zelos advised.

The two shot into the air. As they flew off, a gross, squelching sound emanated from one of the massive growths. Colette shrieked. Snapping around, Zelos panicked as she lost altitude. He rushed to her side, then gasped again. Thick tendrils had snatched the Chosen about her ankles and waist.

Zelos slashed through the gross extremities. He grabbed Colette, then bolted out of the miasma. She lobbed her chakrams behind them, swatting away whatever followed them. Only through sheer speed were they able to escape. The chasm groaned beneath them, but could do nothing more to pursue the duo.

Landing onto the outcropping above, Zelos put Colette onto the ground. He tucked his sword away, then gave a low whistle. "Well, that was a little too close."

"Is it down there?" Lloyd asked.

"Kind of. I mean, it looks like it, but…" Colette shook her head, confused. "It's really puffy. Spread all over the place. I think it's sick. Then, when Zelos and I were getting away from it, it tried to grab me! But, he saved me, so it's okay."

Genis scratched his head. "I suppose it's possible that something in the miasma is causing the monster to get sick, but—"

Sheena hissed. "Could we just get down there and kill it already?"

"Little Miss Vendetta, going right for it!" Zelos threw an arm around the irritated ninja. "Not one to let the mysteries of the universe get in your way, huh?"

She responded to that with an elbow to the redhead's solar plexus.

There was little the group could do but take the ancient stairwell down. It wasn't like Colette and Zelos could fly everyone down at once, and they certainly didn't want to be separated from the group again. As they sank into the miasma, the Sylph sisters' shields guarded them from the toxin. They saw ebbing, skittering shadows in the distance. Rats, perhaps. At least, Zelos hoped that was what he was seeing.

They didn't make it to the bottom of the pit before hunks of the swollen beast started to fill their path. Dark clots shuddered under thin skin. Raine was the first to approach the blockage, eyes gleaming with fascination. She reached out with her staff, then poked the creature's flesh. It gave another low groan, then shivered.

She nodded. "This is fascinating. It feels like—"

The teacher didn't finish her thoughts before something putrid tore through the monster's skin.

/***/

Author's Note:

Not much to report today. Time to get back to the sticky icky bits!


	18. Chapter 18

It was probably human once, but it was long past that point.

What used to be gelatinous ooze was now sticking to half of a skeleton. It crawled towards the group, trailing slime as it hissed. An exsphere was embedded in its forehead, grown over by infected skin. Its hands were morphed into two long, gnarled claws. It reached for Raine's robe, slashing at its ends.

She responded to the threat with a hearty whack to its skull.

Lloyd and Zelos jumped to aid the teacher. They relaxed when they realized that she had done their job for them. The melted remains were stilled, lifeless once more. The professor tapped her staff on the stairwell, cleaning the gunk off of it. Both men shrugged. Who were they to doubt her strength?

Presea poked the corpse with the tip of her axe. She rolled it over, studying its features. "Please, don't tell me that—"

Raine shook her head. "No. It's not him." She tipped her head, studying its fractured remains. "Female human. Young."

"Poor gal," Sheena sighed.

"What caused it to change into that?" Genis asked. "I mean, I'm assuming exsphere parasitism is involved, but I never saw something like that inside this monster before."

Lloyd shrugged. "It looks like this monster's falling apart. Maybe when it can't hold itself together, parts of it leave and become zombies?"

"That's really weird," Genis grimaced at the suggestion.

Presea turned away from the corpse. She glanced into the hole it had cut through the clump's skin. Lifting torn flesh back, she frowned when pus seeped over her boots. She murmured, "It's…hollow."

The party gathered around the tear. The smell emanating from the slough was overwhelming. Skin trembled within and without, black blood seeping through the wound. The hunk of flesh was emptied out, punched straight through to a gory exit. Throbbing veins ran along the walls, tissues weaved like spider webs between opposing sides. Even the dwarven stair steps were popping through the bottom in thin places. It was like a pulsating, humid tunnel.

Without hesitation, Presea stepped inside.

Zelos reach for her shoulder, then pulled her back out. "Whoa, girl. Hold up. Do you know what you're doing?"

"I'm going to find Regal," she told him.

"Are you sure about this?" Zelos pointed towards the putrid remains. "That could be all that's left of him. And if whatever part of this thing is Vharley figures out that you're here, he's going to do the same thing to you."

Presea frowned. "No matter what has happened or will happen…I will see this through."

Zelos shook his head. "I know. Man, Rosebud. You are a tough little cookie."

Turning away from the exasperated Chosen, Presea stepped through the hollow cavity. Genis wasn't far behind her. Like he was going to let his crush step into the gates of hell without his help. Raine and Colette followed next, giving Zelos a smile as they entered. Lloyd shrugged, then went after them. Zelos kept shaking his head in disbelief. How could he be so relaxed about going ahead after seeing that corpse?

Sheena tapped the redhead on his shoulder. "C'mon, tough guy."

Both followed up the rear as diseased flesh stirred around them.

/***/

She couldn't let them know about the screaming.

Presea kept a cold face as she tore through the melted creatures and diseased ooze around her. The same gnawing, rolling cries she heard from the exspheres in Meltokio were sick warbles here. The miasma hadn't only affected the flesh of the rolling monster that contained them. It was getting into the stones, tainting them as well.

Her stomach churned. The only reason they had a chance in this place was due to Sheena's powers. Who was she to believe that any man had a chance against something this overbearing?

"Pu-pu-presea?" Genis stammered. "Are you okay? You l-look pale."

Presea brushed off his comment. "I am always pale."

Wincing, Genis rephrased his inquiry. "N-no. I mean…you look really sick."

Presea shook her head, her pigtails bouncing back and forth. "I…I will be fine, as long as we do not stall."

"Take it easy. J-just talk with my sis if you need a break." Genis rubbed her back.

It was hard to maintain optimism in the dark, dead city. Snarled tissues formed black clots around shattered houses, trying to isolate what infection they could fight. Skeletal forms beat against boils splattered across walls, some too weak to pierce skin. Sometimes, the passageways would be so clotted that even she had to suck in her stomach to pass through them. She could hear thumping in the streets as creatures never meant to live again protested their existence. Their faces glowed from light emanating from Colette's wings and Sheena's pact rings, highlighting the creatures' sickly features.

Slime dripped into Zelos' hair. He grimaced, then flicked it away. "Man, this had better be worth it."

Sheena cast aside another crawling, misshapen lump of flesh. "At least this is easier to fight."

There was a thick thump that passed between two downed houses. It felt like a massive heart was pumping sludge through weak, barely-stable flesh. Presea put a hand to her head. Her skin prickled, nerves tightening. Another hollow chorus of screams went through her head. All she could do to silence them was keep chopping away.

A stretched, bloated balloon filled with pus flowed over an ancient pub. Nodules reached out from the walls, trying to latch onto the party's exspheres. It was if they could smell them, feel a heat that came just from the magical gems. Lloyd and Zelos cut them aside as they slithered out. They fell in spindly heaps to the ground, then melted into gunk once more.

Raine mused about the strange organisms blotting the fallen rooftops and frames. "Links between the largest exspheres, perhaps? Open networks? I suppose if we followed them, we could find its central node."

Presea marched to the front of the group. She traced the roads of slime, wondering where they all connected. As she turned away from a dark passage, the shadows cried out for her. Her eyes widened, her axe slipping from her fingers. She stood straight up, stiff as a board, eyes darting. There was a howl—a familiar cry. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on where it had come from. It felt so near, like it could have come from her own throat.

Genis's stammering cleared for one second. "Presea?"

The young lady clutched her head, then turned around. Swaying, she rushed away from the party. She dragged her axe on the ground, pressing forward blindly, dirt and slime alike tearing behind her. She bumped face first into a wall, then turned around its corner. Tendrils and flanges from old mushroom patches pulled on her boots and skirt. She paid them no mind as she pressed onward.

"Where are you going?" Genis gasped.

Zelos picked up his head. He watched the small girl disappear in the darkness, her black skirt fading into the fog. He bolted after her. Genis followed him, the rest of the group taking after the wild duo. They passed by houses thick with slime, rotting beasts, crushed skeletons. A lamp flickered to life as they rushed past. In its dim, golden glow, an archaic ruin struck them silent with its magnificence.

Stairs shimmering in the low light led up to an ancient, dilapidated temple. Tall, ornately sculpted pillars jutted into the miasma clouds that hovered around the destroyed city. Some had been shattered, jutting up like carved dragon's teeth. Old trim provided a brace for the bulging pile of festering disease that overflowed from the sides and dilapidated roof. Exspheres glowed red in the darkness, dozens of malevolent stars staring down at them. In its solidifying skin, bones and corpses of humans and demons alike fought to have freedom and sentience that no higher power could restore to them, raking helplessly inside the bloated beast.

Presea stood at the maw of all of this, then stepped inside.

Zelos flew up the stairwell, his allies clattering far behind. He followed the small child inside of the abandoned temple. The stench inside was overwhelming. He held a hand over his mouth, trying not to vomit. Presea was unaffected by the gore and odor. She stared straight ahead, eyes fixed on a stone slab raised in the center of the temple. Even in the guts of the creature, the peculiar lanterns kept glowing, illuminating the pained features of a frozen figure.

Terror numbed them. How lifeless Regal seemed, stilled amongst jarring bones and gnashing tides. One word hammered into Zelos' mind over and over again. Wrong. He couldn't be seeing this. Wrong. This motionless puppet snarled in refuse and bound by fibers couldn't be him. Not someone with so much strength and poise. Not Regal. Wrong. He was pale, limp, ragged. Claws raked through his hair, across his clavicle, ripping into cloth and flesh. Wrong! Lava bubbled in Zelos' blood, fire flushing through his skin. Such revolting possession made him burn. If that monster thought it could continue its vile torment, then it was damn wrong!

"Presea…" a low voice grumbled. "Were you looking for this?"

She shrieked as diseased flesh shot out. Zelos snapped out of his dread and rage. He drew his shield, leaping to protect Presea, but his reflexes failed him. A rush of fluid like warm tea spread through his exsphere and ribs. He stepped back, feet slipping. The monster pulled him up, not letting even the forces of gravity take him. Dark power bloomed in his head, taking the Chosen's sight.

Presea screamed as he went limp, dangling from slime winding around his stilled body.

/***/

It took his brain a second to realize that he wasn't dead.

Zelos popped up his head. He glanced around, trying to resolve the sensations he was feeling. Dry ground. Darkness. Lots of darkness. Blue and black trees shot up around him, tangling together so thickly that he couldn't see sunlight. There were winding paths looping around him, all leading back to the same place. He braced his head, trying to let the dizzy waves pass him.

"Gaoracchia," Zelos wheezed. He turned about in confusion. "But I can't be—"

The Chosen's heart just about packed its bags and left his chest. A massive tree loomed over him, ebony and indigo leaves swaying in a dark wind. Thick bark and vines grew out like jagged ribs, lancing over and into a motionless body, dark blood staining barren earth as it fell. Zelos sucked air through his teeth. There was no doubt as to who was being held here.

Zelos put a hand on the captive's head, then pushed it up. "Regal? Can you hear me?"

He was answered with a sharp headbutt.

Zelos stumbled back. "Ow! Damn it, man!"

"Stop with your tricks!" Regal snarled. "Give up, and let me die in peace!"

Shaking his head, Zelos wobbled back to Regal's side. "No, seriously. Regal, it's me. Calm down."

"Prove it," Regal hissed.

Zelos spoke carefully, trying not to spook the weary duke. He placed his left hand over his exsphere, his right on Regal's left wrist. He shuddered at the vines that had grown through the stone's crest. "Here. We're connected by whatever's holding that monster together. So, find me and tell me what I'm thinking about."

Regal closed his eyes. It was mad proof, but in his desperation, he chose to follow Zelos' instructions. There were thousands of shrieking minds all about him, driving him to madness. A slow, even pulse drowned the screaming. He could sense the redhead smugly grinning, a warm aura ebbing in his forehead. Reaching out, he picked up a thought on the surface of Zelos' mind.

"You hate red roses," Regal said.

"What? That wasn't what—" The Chosen stammered. He couldn't believe that was what Regal had found. "Well, it's not like I hate them when girls give them to me. But—"

"They often clash with the color of your hair, so you don't often use them as corsages or accessories. You will only wear them if your companion for the evening claims they are her favorite color." Regal continued on, talking more than Zelos had ever heard the man speak in one breath. "Pink and yellow are acceptable. White is preferred. When you were a child…you saw a hybrid rose bush possessing blooms that were both pink and white. Those were your favorite."

Zelos pulled back his hand, then sulked. "Okay, okay. Geez, not even Sheena knows something that emasculating about me."

Despite their dire situation, Regal smiled. He pulled against his restraints, then hissed. Sharp pain kept him prisoner better than any chains. "Why are you here? If that monster has consumed you too…" He frowned, then winced. "Did my plan not work?"

"No. You brought the monster down into Morlia, and…well, it's dying, Regal. Frankly, we didn't think you'd survive this long," Zelos explained. "Presea found you. She…she just froze. I haven't seen her that scared in a long time. Probably not since she had to bury her father."

Regal shook his head. "You were all safe. Why would you be so foolish as to—"

Zelos responded to such sharp words by cracking Regal in the forehead with his own headbutt. As the confused duke growled, Zelos cut him off. "Don't give me that crap, Regal! How could you possibly think that we wouldn't be coming after you?"

Regal's shoulders dropped. "I—"

"You know what? You bought us time, and you got that monster out of the way. Sure thing," Zelos nodded. His breath became hot, spitting anger like flames. "But, don't you dare think it was some kind of noble sacrifice. Not after the way my hunnies cried. Not after what happened to Sheena." He clutched a fist over his sternum, words painful as knives on his tongue. "Just thinking about losing her makes my heart feel like it's going to explode. If you don't think that even one person would feel that way about you vanishing, then you're a bigger idiot than I am."

Regal lowered his head. His eyes looked tired, mouth pulled back. "I am sorry, Zelos."

Zelos nodded. "I know you are. I can feel it here." He tapped on his exsphere. "And I know you were scared. Man, I was too. But, you've got a lot to make up for."

"I'm used to seeking atonement," Regal murmured. "Fear, though…Even now, it controls me. Shameful."

Zelos patted him on his right shoulder. "Hey. It's totally okay to be afraid. It means you've got something worth protecting. There were days I didn't even think I had that."

Regal smiled. A part of him hurt with a new pride for Zelos. That young man had matured so much. He had grown from a playboy and a womanizer into a true defender. He'd never live quite up to his title, but damned if he wasn't a knight in his own right. Perhaps he was still a lech on the surface, but there was strength and fire in his core.

"Could I ask for your assistance?" Regal asked. His breath caught as he pulled against the tree's growths. Even if this was just some hallucination, the pain of being stabbed by splintering bark felt real enough. "I—augh—believe a sword would be better at—nnn!"

"Not that I'm above saving guys, but I don't know if that would help. That dumb monster's still attached to you, after all. It's controlling the illusion—and you. So, you've got to get it out of your exsphere and your mind." Zelos tried stifling a smirk, but it slipped out. "By the way—twice in one week? Dude. I don't even rescue damsels that often!"

"Duly noted," Regal grinned. He clenched his left hand, then focused on his exsphere. "I have had some success in channeling unrefined energy through my exsphere. Such a technique could sever our connection to the rest of the exsphere network. If you'll permit me to use your exsphere as an additional conductor, I believe we could cause a resonance strong enough to not only disconnect ourselves, but cause great tissue damage to this creature in the process."

Zelos raised an eyebrow. "Sounds a little dangerous."

"Think of it as a magnified arte," Regal explained. "We would run out of mana and wither before we could get control over the entire network—or crush ourselves in the process—but we can at least pool our resources to do some respectable damage."

"That's what I want to hear!" Zelos smirked. "See? The only thing that's been holding you back is emotional blackmail. That, and three thousand exspheres trying to get your brain to shut up. Man, I can feel a headache coming on."

Regal nodded. "Though, you are correct—this will be rough."

"Just shut up and do it, old man!" Zelos goaded his friend on.

/***/

Seconds after Zelos went slack, there was a red force that flared across two exspheres.

Flesh surrounding the Chosen and the duke burst. The restraints and bones around Regal's body snapped under duress. They collapsed onto the stone dais together, infected ichor gushing through the smoking wounds. Both were still, bleeding from sensitive injuries around their exspheres. There was little more than shaky breathing coming from either of them.

Presea dropped to Zelos' aid, rolling the limp redhead onto his right side. She tapped on Zelos' face, hoping to rouse the Chosen. "Zelos! Zelos, wake up!"

Her pleading was joined by a chorus of howls. She would have screamed again, had it not been for the sudden rush of feet behind her. Her group had finally caught up to them, finding the chaos that had just erupted. The monster's weight flowed down, trying to take both men into its body. Snarling, Presea struck back, her ice-coated axe stopping the flood of gore in its tracks.

"What the hell?" Sheena asked.

"Lloyd! Colette!" Raine ordered. "Recover them!"

Her pupils rushed to Presea's aid. Lloyd made one strike across the monster, pure light burning with laser sharpness from his blow. He grabbed Zelos' collar, then yanked him back. Colette pushed forward with Presea, the latter making another devastating slash. The blonde put her hands under Regal's arms, then pulled with all her might, dragging him out of harm's way.

Sheena shook, her body quivering at the nobles' dreadful state. She slipped next to Lloyd, taking Zelos' limp arm around her neck. "C'mon, Zelos! Wake up!" Her voice cracked as she pleaded with the unconscious man. "We're not leaving anyone behind, remember? Please—don't leave me now!"

A dark laugh mocked her. "Who said...I would…let any of you go?"

/***/

Author's Note

Writing tip—if a paragraph sounds a little bit sensual when you write it, make it more sensual. Just make the undertones into overtones. People dig sensuality, especially if it comes with some smokin' hot innuendo.

Ya know. Assuming it's appropriate and all.


	19. Chapter 19

It was hard for Sheena to decide if she and her friends were heroic or the biggest idiots born in the world. No—in two worlds.

To give them credit, they had saved her life several times over. On the other hand, they kept getting her into these life and death situations. It was hard to feel like someone's champions when the foolishness of their plans was laid bare. Going to save Regal? Good idea. Stomping through chunks of a monster and a dead city to get to him? Not smart. Knocking Zelos out in the process? Unbelievably bad form.

And now, the beast was taunting the creatures standing just within its reach. She might as well just bathed herself in garlic and butter before this damn rescue mission.

Flesh and stone cracked as the oozing creature's body burst forward. Settled skin split with jagged tears. Everyone ran off as slime and pus rolled out of the temple in a fetid tide. Malformed bodies fell next, landing in lifeless heaps. Others tore free, moving with whatever was left of their skeleton. The majority of slime, bones, and exspheres clung together, rolling freely as the creature advanced on the group.

"We need to take cover!" Raine barked.

If nothing else, the abandoned city in Morlia had plenty of that. The professor rushed into an old storehouse, popping out the back end and into an old house. Lloyd and Sheena took the same route, hoping the professor's winding path would confuse the melting creature. Colette went up and over. Even with a man twice her size on her shoulder, she still had maneuverability on her side. Genis and Presea veered into their own direction, luring a part of the tide away. Offense was the only defense they could give Raine.

It wasn't fair to have children risking their lives, but none of them had any choice.

Lloyd and Sheena laid Zelos down in a dusty kitchen. Colette crashed inside from the upstairs window. She was quick to rejoin her friends, placing Regal next to the unconscious Chosen. Glancing at Lloyd with worried eyes, Colette spilled her thoughts. "I've got to go back!"

"Go ahead. I'll be behind you." Lloyd placed his hands on his swords' hilts. "Sheena—you can protect Raine until she patches them up, right?"

Sheena nodded. "You can count on me!"

Lloyd raised two fingers to his forehead, saluting the ninja. He rushed after the ditzy blonde girl, swords drawn before he was out the front door. A morose pain ebbed in Sheena's heart. She smiled, trying to force it away. If only she could be as optimistic as he was. With Regal and Zelos as lifeless as dolls, it was hard to let any of her friends go, knowing they could end up the same way.

She raised a hand to Zelos' face, then wiped gunk away. "You idiot."

/***/

Fear had turned Presea into a tiny typhoon.

Genis couldn't help but be enamored by her violent outburst. She swung herself with such intense, raw power that he felt his own magic would never match. Ice bloomed and swirled around her strikes like ribbons of glass. Reanimated bodies fell by the dozens in front of her blade. Not enough bat-winged demons held her back. She jumped up, then cleaved one in half, roaring the entire way down.

The petite powerhouse shouted at him. "Genis! Spells, now!"

"R-r-right!" Genis shook his head. He couldn't believe he let his infatuation get in the way!

The young student could hardly find enough time to cast. Even with Presea's immense display of strength, monsters were swarming them on all sides. Little pops of ice were all he could manage. Still, they gave the duo some protection. It was funny in a sick way to watch monsters try to claw at them, unable to move out of their icy prisons.

"Presea! Can you cut them back? I think I can give you a charge!" Genis suggested.

The pink-haired girl nodded once. "Of course."

With one swirl, she split a line in half. She kept her momentum going, whirling out of control, her heart reaching into her neck. A bright spiral of magic surged around her. Her eyes brightened, exsphere flickering into action. As soon as the massive lightning bolt from Genis' spell hit the ground, she let it course through her. The two cried out in unison as a tornado of electrical charges flooded the army of abominations. When she stopped spinning, there was little left but bone and shattered gemstones.

"P-pretty cool, right?" Genis smiled.

"Yes. Well done," Presea agreed.

Grinning like a fool, Genis kicked a shattered exsphere. Presea shook her head. Sweet kid, but he needed too much affection. Her expression dropped as a wave ebbed behind the absent-minded half elf. She rushed to protect him, shouting, "Behind you!"

The mage was spared by a pink blur crashing through the tide. Lightning, stars, hammers, and everything but the kitchen sink rained out as Colette slammed through the monster and into another residential building. Genis sighed, the ball of his kendama hitting the ground. Leave it to catastrophe-prone Colette to accidentally save his neck again. The least he could do was make sure that she didn't knock herself out.

A red roar followed the ditzy Chosen's path. Genis and Presea perked up, rushing to catch up with the dual swordsman. He flashed them a smile between a series of cuts that would make a teppanyaki chef blush with shame. All at once, they felt brighter for having each other's company. This wasn't the first time that they had fought in such dire circumstances. The unholy dread of the Tower of Salvation's trials and sacrifices lingered in their minds, now a hopeful flame. No matter what, they were going to get through this together.

"Did you happen to see Colette go by?" Lloyd asked.

"She crashed," Presea replied flatly.

A strong call echoed through the alleyway from a shattered window. "I'm okay! Be right there!" It was followed by a tiny "Oww, my head…"

Lloyd sighed. "Well, at least she's still conscious."

"Let us focus on the task at hand," Presea demanded. "Please provide offense, Lloyd. I will protect Genis while he casts."

Genis beamed. "Right! I'm on it, you guys!"

As a circle of icy magic flared beneath his feet, Genis' friends took charge, throwing themselves with full force against the gigantic monster.

/***/

Faceless drones swarmed around their bastion.

Sheena held her position beside Zelos, keeping silent and still. Raine was just as quiet, lips moving in soft incantations. There must have been a couple dozen abhorrent creations spawned from slime waiting just outside the old house's doors. Not quite human, not quite demon. Sheena had only seen something like them a couple of times before. They were terrible nightmares, human forms corrupted into long-limbed, faceless, sharp-clawed aberrations.

Quiet gurgling startled Sheena. Her eyes widened as Zelos raised his head. She pressed a hand to his chest, keeping him low. He looked at her with such confusion, energetic eyes now weary. He slipped his hand over hers, squeezing tightly. The reaction brought an instant flush to Sheena's face.

"What's happening, hunny?" Zelos wheezed.

Sheena put a finger to her lips. She pointed towards a shattered window. Zelos peaked up, then ducked back down. Giant monsters were nothing to mess with. He held a hand to his head, trying to channel his own healing arts. When white mana flickered out of his body, Zelos stiffened, pain jarring his senses.

He put a hand over his exsphere, then groaned. There were burns around it. He lifted his head, then whispered. "Where's everyone?"

"Fighting," Sheena murmured.

Zelos screwed up his face. "And we are?"

Raine shushed the redhead. "Healing you two."

Shifting onto his right hip, Zelos leaned towards the teacher. She was focused in her incantations, trying to draw life back into the group. Even with her mana flowing through him, Zelos felt light-headed. His exsphere throbbed again, skin hot, heart beating a little faster than usual. The key crest around his exsphere felt whole, though. He was just a little mixed up.

"Got any medicinal bottles?" Zelos asked Raine.

The healer frowned. "Why are you asking?"

Zelos tipped his head. "The ones on me are covered in gunk. Not exactly hygienic. Just leave a life bottle—maybe a panacea one, too—and let me take care of Regal." He nodded towards the stairwell, trying to urge the two ladies on. "Go help the kids. I've got this."

"Are you crazy?" Sheena hissed. She barely remembered to keep her voice down. "You just about bit it, and you want me to leave you in a house surrounded by monsters?"

"Sheena, my buds and hunnies need you. Raine, too. They're fighting thousands of creepy things. They've got to have support," Zelos demanded. "You're so damn strong. It's a shame you have to sit here, playing nurse for someone like me."

A second crimson blush went through Sheena's face. She tried to stamp it out. "Y-you idiot. I didn't do this just for you."

Zelos smiled, his lips crooked. He reached forward with his left hand, placing it on the back of Sheena's head. He leaned forward just enough to bump her on the forehead. When she didn't fidget, he raised his chin and planted a kiss on her brow. That was too much for the ninja. She pulled back, then shook her head. Leave it to that moron to try and get fresh with her, even in these dire circumstances.

"You know, you really look good in pink," Zelos teased her.

Enough was enough for her. She rolled her head back, then nodded towards the stairwell. "Raine, with me. I'll help you out."

The teacher lowered her staff onto Regal's stomach. She gave a small sigh, hesitant to leave her job unfinished. She reached into her robes, then ruffled through a small satchel. She left four bottles with Zelos—two life, two panacea. "Don't drop these."

"You've got it," Zelos nodded. He pushed Regal into an upright position, then uncorked one of the glass stoppers. "I'll be right behind you."

Raine crawled towards the stairwell, keeping out of the monster's line of sight. Sheena was hesitant to follow her. She shook her head, struggling to believe what Zelos had said and done. Both ladies crept upstairs, glass tinkling as they stepped onto the roofs. There was a little bit of commotion as the monsters watched both women leap away. Some followed, most staying put.

Zelos smiled, warm memories flowing through his bloodstream. He sighed, then got to work, tipping Regal's head back as he poured potion down his throat. "The things I do for that woman."

His feelings doubled when Regal came to with a violent series of coughs, splattering mucus and potion across Zelos' shirt.

/***/

Rooftop travel was not suitable for Raine. Even with flat roofs, making jumps across gaps was nerve-wracking. She was lucky she had enough speed and a staff strong enough for pole vaulting. Otherwise, there would have been no way she would have kept Sheena in her sights. She barely had enough oxygen in her brain to think straight. All she wished for at that moment was a magic flying broom.

Hardly the sort of transportation for a healing woman, but it would have been preferred to this gymnastics course.

A flock of aberrations clambered up the walls. They crashed down hard enough to snap their own bones. Half a dozen other questions went through Raine's mind as she whipped up a spell. What constituted most of these creatures? Why were they so careless about their own bodies? How were they moving together? Was that collective intelligence maintained, even as the ooze was separated into unique forms? She cracked her staff forward, sending plasma lances rocketing through the center of the hoard. Sheena splashed through what little remained of them, seals quickly cleaning up the last stragglers.

"Keeping up?" Sheena grinned.

Raine laughed at the ninja. "You're cocky."

"Scared to death!" Sheena corrected the healer. "But, long as I can run, I'll be fine."

She leapt onto another rooftop, leaving Raine in the dust. The teacher shook her head, but carried on. She could hear the crackle of ice and metal against bone in the distance. Genis and his friends, no doubt. Her heart rested easier, knowing that her brother was okay. It had been painful to split from him, but she knew he was more than capable of taking care of himself. Not that a big sister still couldn't worry about him.

The teacher's eyes glimmered as she came upon the battleground. Cave roofs were lower here, carved with rigid braids and set with glowing stones. Rudimentary industrial buildings were left open to the air, workshops and their tools rusted over. There were sewer channels that ran deeper into the earth. She clapped her hands in surprise, stopping for a moment to observe the collapsed businesses. "My goodness! Production lines! Automated systems! They must have been a refinery for the Toize Valley Mine! They may have even been responsible for the installation and maintenance of the mine's machinery!"

"Great observation, Teach," Sheena sighed. "Could you save it for after the fight?"

Raine groaned. "Assuming this place is still standing when we're finished. We have such bad luck for destroying ruins."

A cold wind whipped in front of the two ladies as Genis' voice echoed through the chasm. "Ice Tornado!" Blue and white magic leapt into the air, a bright beacon for the ninja and the teacher. Sheena took off, fast as the wind. Raine was tired of chasing her. She slid down the side of the roof, landing in a balcony just below. With a quick trot through another building, she was at ground level, trailing behind a blur.

She arrived just as Colette released a sacred spell. Gold light drove surging flesh back as it reached up from the earth. Raine joined her assault, popping off a quick burst of light magic. A fleet of sloppy forms burst into meaningless, cooked slop, others stumbling away, exspheres burning from the holy power.

"Professor!" Colette cheered. "If you're here, then—"

Raine explained her orders. "Zelos is conscious. He insisted that Sheena and I come to help you all."

Colette clapped her hands together. "I'm glad to hear that!"

A meek voice started Raine. "And Regal?"

The teacher turned to face Presea. "He'll be just fine. Zelos volunteered to take care of him."

"If you say so," Presea murmured. She extended her right hand. "Though, I am glad you are with us."

Turning Presea's arm over, Raine found the injury the young girl was trying to show her. She stopped for a moment as Colette protected the pair, sealing the injury shut with a simple spell. When that was taken care of, the girl rushed off, whispering her gratitude. She joined Raine's brother, the pair launching into another brutal offense. Raine stood back for a moment, smiling at them. She was grateful Genis had such a friend in her.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Lloyd came crashing down beside her. Raine picked her pupil off the ground, then dusted him clean. "Are you alright?"

"Just took a bad fall." Lloyd grumbled, then shook off his swords. "Man, this is harder than I thought it was going to be. I've only cut through two-hundred and fifty-five exspheres, and I'm already exhausted!"

Genis took control of the situation. "Leave it to me, Lloyd!"

As Lloyd and Presea bounced into offense once more, Sheena peppering the monster from on high, Genis took a moment to study the architecture with his sister. A strong, blunt force could take out more of the monster's exspheres than the whittling his friends were doing. "Say, Raine. Which of these buildings do you think is most likely to collapse?"

Raine scratched her chin. She pointed to the left. "The one with the clock tower." Her eyes widened, and she went into a fresh ruin mode. "Is that clock still running? Genis, do you have a pocket watch on you? We should see if it's accurate!"

"Uh huh," Genis mumbled. "Guys! Lead it to the clock tower!"

Colette and Sheena took charge of distracting the creature. It was hard to ignore Colette's flashy presence in the dark. Sheena was her own form of nuisance, bouncing atop bones as she hauled her way onto another building. Presea trotted along with them. The mass trailed her the most, its inner core still fixated on subduing her. Lloyd drove alongside the creature. He wasn't above whipping it in its side with his sword, pushing it forward like a rancher.

Genis let the power of the earth flow into him. He could feel fissures and cracks all around the ancient city. He focused his power on a vent just underneath the clock tower. A single blow would send it toppling down—straight onto the monster. Probably not a fatal strike for something with as many minds and bodies as it had, but devastating enough.

Calling out, Genis released his spell. "Guys, get back! Ground Dasher!"

It took him half a second to realize his miscalculation. The tower didn't collapse over as much as it went down. Violent miasma erupted from the ground as the quake continued to tear through the industrial area. Gore and flesh seeped into the pit, buildings crashing around it. The entire courtyard was sinking into a toxic chasm.

Even for one as susceptible to tripping as Colette was, the blonde Chosen cleared the battleground with ease. She dragged Presea in tow, iron boots skimming where solid ground used to be. Lloyd rushed after her, wild leaps just long enough to clear the widening hole. Raine grabbed hold of Lloyd, pulling him away from the chasm as another shriek went through the air. Ice ran through their blood as the group realized they hadn't all escaped.

Dropping Presea next to Genis, Colette rushed back, trying to make it to Sheena's side in time. Pink clothes disappeared into the miasma as a manufacturing plant tore apart. She dove after the ninja, praying that her karmatic habit of falling into pits hadn't doomed her. Bricks and dust struck the blonde as she searched. She coughed, the debris choking her. Shaking her head, Colette leapt out of the chaotic fog. She dropped next to Raine's side, coughing wildly as she tried to clear her lungs.

Genis shouted into the pit. "Sheena!"

His cry echoed through the desolate city as dark forces bubbled beneath the group's feet.

/***/

Author's Note:

Crap. I always leave a space for author's notes, and then I never have anything to say. Anyway—thanks for your continued reading!


	20. Chapter 20

For a moment, Zelos thought hell had cracked open.

Nothing short of a demon's power could make him feel this dread. Fighting monsters in an underground city, his nearest ally barely conscious, no light or hope in sight—that was enough to make him uneasy. The rumbling that ripped through the cave knocked him backwards, striking the air out of his lungs. Cold chills traveling through him as pessimism took root in his brain. He growled, then drew his blade. This was not the time to lose focus.

All it took was a child's cry to shatter his concentration. "Sheena!"

Claws shattered through wood. Wobbling monstrosities flooded the dilapidated sanctuary. The only intervention that spared Zelos from nails raking him across his face was a pair of steel-toed boots slamming through the monster's ribs. Regal took defense over Zelos as the Chosen collected his thoughts. Another creature splashed into giblets before Zelos had any senses recovered.

Regal snarled, barking at the redhead. "Zelos! Go!"

Zelos didn't need the duke to tell him twice. He slipped from Regal's protection, fiery wings shooting out of his back as he blasted up the stairwell. He leapt out of the upstairs window. There was no way he could fly fast enough to get to Sheena's aid. Regal followed him across the roofs, legs strong enough to drive back the monsters at their heels. They rushed forward, red and blue streams coursing over nefarious forces in the black abyss.

It didn't take long for Zelos to lose sight of Regal. Even legs as powerful as his couldn't move as fast as a panicked angel. The sound of his powerful roars and bones crunching echoed off the walls of the massive cave. Such jarring cacophony drove Zelos onward. It was rotten of him to leave the weary man to fight alone, but they were noblemen, raised in chivalry and trained to answer the call of the distressed. If anyone would forgive him for abandoning them to aid others, it would be Regal. After all, he was guilty of that very crime.

Terror radiated from the redhead as he caught sight of a hole punctured straight out of the ground. Poisonous fog seeped out of it, rushing past him as he dipped towards the gorge's edge. Green mana flared around him. He took heart in that protection. If he still had the aid of the Sylph, then that meant their contract was valid with Sheena—that she was still alive. He found similar flashes of magic below him. Whipping down, Zelos dropped next to his friends, wings fluttering as he held his position.

He didn't waste any time. "Where is she?"

Genis pointed down. "Zelos, I-I'm so—"

"Okay. Colette, what's down there?" Zelos jumped over Genis' stammering.

Colette folded her hands. "Lots of rubble. The monster got hit pretty hard, but it's still going. I lost sight of Sheena. Though, I think she's alive."

Zelos flashed a smile. "I know she is." He bobbed his head towards the pit. "C'mon!"

"Hold on!" Raine tried slowing down the impulsive Chosen. "It's a steep drop. We can't take a fall like that. We'll need your help and Colette's to descend." She lowered her eyebrows, then asked, "And where did you abandon Regal? Leaving an injured companion behind—"

Zelos dropped his jaw, hurt. "He's fine! Geez, do you think I'm that much of a heel?" He reached a hand out to Lloyd, then bobbed his head towards the chasm. "Yo! Let's go!"

"You've got it!" Lloyd clapped onto his hand.

The redhead took off like a fireball into the pit, dragging Lloyd with him. Colette hopped after him, pink magic trailing orange wings. They descended through fog. Parts of a clock tower jutted beneath Lloyd's feet as they reached the chasm's floor. Black rock was torn up from the earth, as if a god had punched down and dragged his knuckles across it. Liquid pooled beneath rubble. Not blood, not flesh—not something that smelt fresh.

The two Chosen dropped the companions on stable ground. Colette immediately took off for another party member, leaving a tiny girl with a massive axe in her place. Zelos smirked to himself. Maybe Presea wasn't the most tactical choice, considering the hazardous environment, but that girl was determined to end their struggle by her own hands. She and Lloyd rushed towards a bleeding heap of stone and bricks. Exspheres trickled out, chunks of bone trying to grab for them.

Fighting the monster was their priority—not Zelos'. The Chosen cupped his hands, then called out for his fallen teammate. "Sheena! Where are you?"

/***/

The cry seemed distant, as far apart from her as the sky and the sea. Sheena shivered, then shifted her position. When the shout came up again, her head pounded. No, that was real. She pushed against the timbers that held her pinned inside a heap no more spacious than a broom closet. Her hips protested as she slid her legs free. Her toes felt numb, prickling. She took great breaths, her chest heaving.

She shouted back. "Zel—argh!"

Sheena's screaming was cut short by a sudden pull on her stomach. The ninja gasped as slime pooled around her. She slapped a seal against the ooze, its force just enough to pop the intruder away. Stumbling backwards, she smacked her head into another loose beam. She glanced around, trying to figure out what to push against. One wrong move, and she'd have the entire pile of rubble crushing her.

Not that such an inconvenience slowed down the remnants of the man-eater.

Exspheres and diseased flesh seeped in through gaps in the rubble. Sheena's heart seized. The monster was coming in faster than she could figure out how to escape. It was up to her knees before she found a loose board, her waist before she could slap another seal against its surface. The fiery burst did little to deter the flooding monster.

She shoved against anything, too panicked to think straight. Claustrophobia set in as the creature rose up her neck. She could feel it bubbling around her, laughing at her fear. Fibers like little fingers nipped at her skin, seeking the heat of her exsphere. She shrieked as they wound around her arms and knees.

Sheena stomped down, trying to keep her head free. The monster taunted her, low cackles seeping into her ears. "Don't struggle this time, my dear…"

She let loose with one last scream as the monster dragged her beneath its skin. "Zelos!"

/***/

That shriek pierced through the rotten purgatory, striking Zelos in the gut with a pain sharper than a sword.

He turned to his right, glowing stones flaring in his eyes. A pile of gunk was squirming inside a collapsed roof, flowing over as if it was filled with yeast. Thick, wooden beams jutted out of its side, letting fresh slime bleed out. Black boils and bulging exspheres were fixed upon him, like so many malevolent eyes. The grotesque hunk pushed against the front of the old factory, brickwork snapping into chunks of powder. The strength in his legs threatened to give away.

Presea and Lloyd were at his side within seconds. Another short figure rushed behind him. Zelos glanced behind him, finding Genis struggling to catch up. Colette didn't come to his aid, too busy fetching Raine. That was alright. Fighting with four of them always worked out before.

The bulk of the beast ebbed out from another building, the entire wave of it rolling forward at once. Presea kept her momentum going. There was no way she could stop the tide, but she wouldn't back out. With one slam, she cleaved an outstretched arm. Where her strikes glittered with shimmering ice, Lloyd's beamed with a solar sheen. His rising and falling chops cauterized flesh. He moved with unusual precision and accuracy, pivoting on light toes to make his slashes. Chunks of exspheres dusted his swords like so much red earth.

Snow and ice whipped round the group as Genis unleashed another blizzard. Zelos took the freezing bite as his opening. He took two steps forward, then pierced his blade through Genis' spell. His sword shattered his own reflection. Two more hits, and he drilled forward with a thrust. Brutality broke his elegant form. He slammed down with his sword, pulling up again to tear through gunk.

Skeletons merged to make one massive arm. They reached for the slippery redhead. He kicked back, landing with a sharp descent. He raised his sword, then taunted the monster. "What's wrong, dude? Cat got your tongue?"

"You know…" The monster wheezed, then slammed its appendage down. "Even I get tired of talking after a while."

"Nothing though? No threats against Presea? No calling me weak?" Zelos snickered, then launched another assault. "At the very least, I thought you'd have a speech prepared."

Bubbling, the man-eater cackled at the Chosen. "Did you want to debate philosophy? Religion? Ethics? Come on, now…"

Presea bore down on another exsphere, chopping it into pieces as she hissed. "The least you could do is apologize!"

The monster sunk down, trying to swell around her. She stepped out of its side, growling as he snickered at her. "To whom, Presea? You? Alicia?"

Just mentioning her little sister was enough to make Presea furious. "Fine! Shut up and die!"

With one snap of flesh, the man-eater knocked Presea into Genis. Zelos and Lloyd took defense of the duo as they recovered themselves. The monster laughed, swirling into its own folds. Zelos' stomach sank. The damned foe was toying with the group. Even now, in all this poison and with all this damage, it thought of fighting with them as nothing than an exciting pastime.

"I could tell you two things," Vharley's core hissed. "These exspheres…they were so powerful. So lonesome. Left so long on that bridge…in the ocean…all those voices, and no unity! You gave them a gift when you killed me, Presea…a body to which they could attach…to grow…to become one."

Presea narrowed her eyes. "I should have had Genis burn your corpse."

Her darkness shocked even the young half-elf. "Presea…"

The man-eater slammed onto their position. "It would have been kinder than letting me rot in a sewer! You…mongrels!"

"So, what's the other thing?" Lloyd asked as he parried another blow away.

"Oh…it's really not all that important," the monster gurgled. "Just a little joke I think Zelos would find funny."

Zelos shook his head, shaking gunk off his blade. "And that is?"

His cocksure attitude shattered at the monster's words. "Of all the things she could have done…with all of those powerful spirits she could have summoned…she called for you."

Thousands of lights went black as night as terror crushed Zelos' heart. All at once, the cave lost any natural source of illumination. He became too aware of his pulse, dripping slime, the stench of death and sulfur. Three eyes opened in the darkness. Cyan slits cut through him. The third eye flared, hanging low and ominous over the party.

The summon spirit of darkness had been turned against them.

Dreadful power flared below their feet as the spirit's channeling was fueled by the immense mana capability within the beast. Their legs felt like melting liquid, guts churning in the immense waves coming from the grotesque spirit. Silver teeth gnashed, blood spilling out. Zelos didn't dare blink. He feared death taking him if he closed his eyes.

The redhead dropped to his knees, sword and shield clattering out of limp hands. "H-how?"

"Pact…" the abominable Shadow crackled. "A call…I obey…"

Thumps hit the ground around him, screams following. Genis and Presea stood no chance against Shadow's dark heart. Lloyd fought, Luna's Topaz shimmering like the last feeble star before the heat death of the universe. Even someone as stubborn as him could do no more than shout. Zelos felt his back breaking, eyes growing dim. He couldn't fight against raw elemental power like this. He lowered his head, exsphere struggling to open his wings. All he could see around him came from those stupid markers of his status. He bent down, staring at his sternum.

Volt's Sardonyx sparkled.

"She wanted me?" Zelos asked.

His chest shuddered. It felt so impossible. Women didn't want him. They wore his status and affection like a trinket. His mother wished he had never existed. His sister—no, his sister loved him, in her own strange way. So did Sheena. She was always the one at his side, bossing him around, trying to make him into a better person. She believed in him, even when he was lying. He cared for her, his body aching at the thought of losing her. Whether the monster was just taunting him or whether there was a sliver of truth to his statement, Zelos didn't care. He wanted the symbol on his chest to mean something.

Zelos stood, wings flaring in the darkness. So a giant monster had swallowed his best friend. So it was using her phenomenal powers against him. So what?

"Sheena!" Zelos shouted through the howling darkness. "Hang on!"

Light flared at his back, cleaving Shadow's power. Columns of solar energy rained down. Lances pierced the shroud around the party. Even the smallest of magic was enough to startle the summon spirit. Zelos didn't look back, knowing who had come to his aid. Blessed Colette. Wise Raine. He knew he could count on his ladies to back him up, even as they struggled to kneel.

He could barely move forward, legs weak against the magic. He lowered his head, hardly charging against the beast behind Shadow. It was so easy to want to lie down and fall asleep. Light flared around him as fresh mana surged into his heart. Not Raine's magic—not quite so potent—but gentle and strong. Zelos smiled, knowing that all of his friends were at his back. If Regal was dumb enough to come to his aid, then Zelos was willing to risk it all for his allies, too.

He needed no sword to free Sheena. It had cut Regal loose in Altamira, but it hadn't rescued him from his second imprisonment. It didn't fix Sheena's broken crest. It couldn't save Princess Hilda or Meltokio, and it sure as hell hadn't done much to slow this monster down. The fastest solution, hazardous as it was, required only a show of his heart.

Zelos opened his arms, then taunted the man-eater. "Hit me!"

The monster was more than glad to oblige. For the second time in that hour, ooze swallowed him whole. Zelos laughed to himself, snickering at the creature's blind hunger. How could it possibly be so stupid to take him in again?

Probably for the same reason he felt invincible—because they were both so powerful.

/***/

She couldn't move.

Sheena wondered if this was how Lloyd, Zelos, and Regal had felt. Crushed into a ball, unable to breathe, plagued by nightmares. She felt raw, like she was falling forever. So tired, too. She could have fallen unconscious, had it not been for the pain in her exsphere. The monster's core was draining her, forcing her to hold her contact with Shadow until she was hollowed out.

"Some fighter," Sheena lamented. "Just kept getting hurt…"

She sank down, warm in an illusion. If she could fall asleep, it would feel like she was lying in someone's arms. She rolled her head, trying to take comfort in her hallucinations. A smooth hand brushed her bangs away from her eyes. Gentle fingers rubbed her shoulders, trying to soothe her wounded ego.

A calm voice murmured to her. "I'm here, Sheena."

The ninja lifted her head. She didn't know whether to hit the man holding her or to start crying. "Zelos?"

"Don't panic, okay? I'm going to get you out of here." Zelos shook his head back and forth, then corrected himself. "Well, to be accurate, you're going to get us out of here."

Sheena punched him in the chest. "You idiot! You let that monster eat you again?"

Zelos laughed. "Hey! You believe it's me! Man, that's great. Least I don't have to talk you through finding me."

"I-I don't understand," Sheena stammered.

"Look—when that monster got me and Regal? Did you see a flash of light before we fell out?" Zelos tipped his head to the side. "Regal did that. Even here, in all of this, we've still got power over our exspheres. Hell, we can even hijack a couple others. We can use our mana, but you've gotta think really hard about it."

"So, you think my artes can get us out, huh?" Sheena asked.

Zelos smirked. "You can do one better, Sheena. You can stop this monster."

The ninja shook her head, confused by Zelos' words. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Vharley's core's making you summon stuff, right? Draining you out? Then you're connected to his entire network of exspheres. He's using you as his main generator for power right now—using all of these exspheres wired to you just to hurt us." Zelos patted her back, getting her to relax. "Even with all of these exspheres, it still has to have a connecting medium—its gunk. No gunk, no mana flow. And since ice stops it up…"

Sheena's eyes widened. "Celsius! With enough exspheres giving her power, she could freeze the entire monster through!" She grimaced, still not convinced of Zelos' plans. "But if I do that…What will we—"

"I can burn us out. Or Genis can. Trust me—I didn't let some monster take me just to die. I did it to find you," Zelos finished her thoughts. "You've got a stronger will than all of these exspheres, Sheena. Definitely stronger than that ass Vharley. I know you can fight. Just don't panic, okay?

Sheena lowered her head against his neck. "If I end up hurting us—If I kill you—"

Zelos held her tighter. "There's no one else I'd rather have murder me."

"Ugh. Did you pick up flirting tips from Presea's sister?" Sheena scoffed.

"C'mon!" Zelos laughed. "Just shut up and do it!"

She finally smiled. Sheena curled against him, her warmth keeping his heart beating. He held onto her, their false perceptions keeping them afloat. She made a silent prayer for intercession. Even a spirit as merciless as Shadow took pause for his master's pleas. He rumbled, then echoed her calls into the spirit realm. A mindless chorus of exspheres rang out the cry for divine intervention, the flow of control and mana reversing from Sheena's will. There was no way that Celsius couldn't hear such a desperate song.

The world around them went crystalline. Even in a prison of biting ice, Zelos felt whole and happy. Sheena's exsphere burned below his, both stones flickering as one. He gave her his all, grinning as the world became silent and cold. Her arms tightened around his shoulders, and he squeezed back. He took comfort in how tightly she held on, lost in their illusions and love.

His wings flickered away, and their world became a black diamond.

/***/

Author's Note:

Something tells me that had I finished this six years ago, I wouldn't have had this ending. Perhaps "Frozen" is to blame for this change. It finally made ice look like a cool element!

…whoops. Accidental pun.


	21. Chapter 21

The conscious party stood as frozen as the stilled monster.

Shadow's barrage fell to Celsius' strike. What had been a small flicker of ice in the heart of the beast bloomed out into a beautiful, haunting blossom. Genis' eyes widened as he regained his strength, marveling at the display of magic. He could only hope to one day create something as wonderful and powerful as this. He clung to his sister's robes, his legs too weak to stand.

Regal shivered as a cold wind went through his gore-drenched clothing. He knelt next to Presea, nudging her onto her knees. The same enchantment that had struck Genis passed through her. Snowflakes burst from the outer edges of the frozen monster, landing upon her cheeks and nose. She held a hand on Regal's shoulder, amazed and frightened. It hardly seemed real.

Lloyd and Colette shuddered together, awed at the way the red exspheres shimmered in the cold. Zelos was frozen near the monster's edge, his arms extended into the guts of the creature. Slender hands were reaching back for him deep within the monster's body. Tears escaped Colette before she could stop them. Lloyd took off his gloves, then mopped them away.

"Don't…cry…little…girl…" the monster taunted Colette.

Presea's eyes flared. She rose to her full height, snatching her axe off the ground. Now, with the creature as clear as a gemstone, she could see its corrupted heart. An exsphere beat in the center of the creature's mass. It was studded with dozens of additional stones, all circling around a violent, blood-red core.

"Everyone," Presea snarled. "We finish this!"

Genis knew just want to do. He raised his kendama, then called upon a simple spell. It wasn't to destroy the monster in one go. Destroying Vharley's core wasn't a prize he was going to take for himself. A dozen fireballs leapt from his hands, all striking a path towards the monster's heart. Frozen ooze cracked and hissed.

The rest of the party caught onto Genis' game. Caught up with enthusiasm, Raine joined the attack. A burst of light drilled further down into the beast, widening the path. Lloyd leapt up, cutting waves thinner ice into a stable tunnel. Regal took the next blow, whirling kicks reaching sensitive, vital stones. He slid backwards, slipping clear of Presea's wrath.

The small, angry child raised her axe, then leapt up. Tiny legs weren't enough to ascend the mountain. Colette caught her, then threw her into the chasm. The lumberjill wound up her strike, grimacing.

Vharley's core flickered, tremulous and wild with fear. "Presea!"

"Goodbye," was the only word the little girl spared.

There was no last hiss, no violent scream as Presea's axe shattered the center of Vharley's exsphere. It was as if she had blown out a candle with a single puff. She pulled back, slipping out the way she came. Regal caught her as she leapt down. With a tiny hop, she landed on her feet. She dusted powdered exsphere off her skirt, as if it were nothing more than dirt.

"Way to go!" Genis cheered.

Raine crossed her arms, then tapped her foot. "Well. If we're done having revenge, perhaps we should get to saving Zelos and Sheena."

Genis stiffened. "They're still alive?" He glanced at Lloyd and Presea's necks, finding the pact rings were still present. The fact that he wasn't choking on noxious fumes should have been sign enough that the pact-maker lived. "Crap! Just a second!"

A gentle bubble of fire ebbed out of the ground, circling Zelos with its warmth. The same kind of spell echoed deeper within the monster, surrounding Sheena as well. The half-elf cocked his head, not sure why that had happened. As ice melted away, the redhead stumbled, collapsing into muck and water. He was motionless, ashen.

Regal picked Zelos up, carrying him out of the way as Lloyd and Colette worked on carving a second path to Sheena. He was almost nothing but deadweight. Regal propped up his head, feeling the redhead's pulse course in his temple. Despite his concerns and exhaustion, Regal smiled. Of course Zelos was alive. That second spell had to come from somewhere—and damned if he wasn't going to help Sheena, long as his blood flowed.

"Is she alright?" Zelos panted.

"She will be free in a moment," Regal murmured.

He turned about, letting the Chosen watch the others rescue her. The redhead sank down, way more comfortable with being carried around like some sort of worn-out poodle than he would have been at full health. He steadied one hand on Regal's shoulder, the other channeling warm magic towards Sheena. Lloyd took his path. When Sheena fell from her frozen cage, Zelos lowered his head.

He chuckled as the ninja struggled to walk tall under Lloyd's left arm. "That's my hunny."

Regal stooped down, laying Zelos on cold stone. He placed two hands on the redhead's chest. Mana ebbed through his exsphere, restoring power to his weary body. For a quiet moment, Zelos was content to rest, watching everyone else fuss over Sheena. She didn't have her eyes open, but she spoke soft, encouraging words to the group. His pulse quickened when Lloyd and Raine led the tired ninja to his side. The healer pushed Sheena down next to him, then grinned.

Sheena took his hand, then laughed. "Thank you, Zelos."

"No problem, babe," Zelos smirked.

He passed what little power was left in him to her. Raine narrowed her eyes, then swatted the Chosen. "Stop that! You're hardly alive as it is." She snapped her head up, then nudged Regal away from the two. "You too! Bunch of soft fools, all of you!"

"Thanks, Mom," Zelos teased Raine.

All that earned him was a thwack on the stomach. The pain from her blow didn't long. Blue mana fanned around the tattered group. Zelos winced as his exsphere took power into his body. He felt giddy, warm. Though, he wasn't sure if it was because of his recovered health or if it was due to Sheena's laughs. He snickered in turn, though he had no reason. Somewhere between the fear of losing her and the joy of helping her, he found his sense of humor.

Lloyd stood up. He gave a look over the glacier of glowing exspheres, then whistled. "Man, what are we going to do about this? This is going to take forever to cut apart!"

"Is destruction our only fate?" the frozen monster asked back.

The group leapt to their feet, save for Zelos and Sheena. Hands flew to their weapons, hearts racing. Zelos leaned over Sheena. The only way he could protect her in this state was using his body as a shield. She was hesitant, nervous. A few seconds passed, but nothing changed. The creature was still held fast.

Regal relaxed his stance. "Wait. This consciousness…"

Lights flickered in Zelos' head. "It's the voice from Altamira."

"You're right." Lloyd pulled his swords back, but didn't put them away. "Are you the lead core now?"

A single pulse flickered within the monster. "We are separate. Only I speak. The rest are…shocked."

"Then, what do you want?" Zelos asked.

"The impossible," the monster replied.

Colette gave Lloyd a confused glance. When he didn't question the monster's response, she did. "What do you mean by that?"

Small crystals of ice crackled as the monster released the closest sound it had to a sigh. "We wanted to live. All of us. We…didn't want to be alone."

"That really is impossible," Genis agreed. "For one, there are thousands of you. How could you be alone with that many exspheres talking to each other? And…" He shook his head, then lowered it. "There's no coming back from being an exsphere. Not like you used to be—and not without hurting someone else."

"We know," the monster murmured. "We were willing to pay such a high cost. We were…drunk on hope."

Presea sighed, then put a hand over her heart. "It is a cruel situation. We understand. Colette and I almost lost our lives the way you did. Lloyd lost his mother, Genis, his friend…Regal and I, my sister…"

"Alicia," the creature answered.

Her eyes widened. "How did you—"

"We shared dreams from days past. Of Alicia, of Lloyd Irving and Colette Brunel—of you all." The monster's dissonant voice went soft, calm. "As they slept within us, they dreamed. Lloyd, Zelos, Regal, Sheena. All conscious of what we did to them. But…all loving. We grew jealous of them, the exspheres that clung to them."

"Mom…" Lloyd whispered. He held his left hand, knowing the power coming from it belonged to her tender spirit.

"Is there…no future for us?" the man-eater's remains questioned.

Regal bowed his head, then told the truth. "Both the governments of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant have ordered the destruction of all exspheres. Our own are no exception. There will be no future in which you can exist—but, there is no future where more people will have to suffer and die as you all have."

The glowing stones within the glacier thought on this. Regret spread through them all. "Then, his promises were lies. Our dream for flesh was in vain. We have killed for nothing. We…I…lament."

"Then, you understand why we must destroy you?" Raine asked.

Another rumble came from inside the creature. Everyone backed away from it, uncertain of what it was doing. It settled down, puffs of ice escaping from the burned holes in its side. "May I…put myself to sleep?"

Sheena tipped her head. "How do you plan on doing that?"

"I will shine," the monster responded.

A warm throb on his wrist caught Regal off guard. He stared down at his exsphere. "It plans on overloading its capacity to generate power—self detonation."

"It is possible that the others will not shine with me," the man-eater confessed. "You will take care of them, won't you?"

Genis nodded. "You've got it."

Zelos screwed up his face. "Guess we'd better stand back, huh?"

He stood up, then picked up his sword and shield. The group traveled to the edge of the chasm, always keeping one set of eyes on the beast. Colette and Zelos took them up, putting them away from worn-out buildings and stalactites. The frozen creature waited patiently. Not that it had much choice in the matter, but none of its parts sought retaliation.

"Are you all safe?" the forlorn voice inside the creature asked.

Zelos nodded. "For now."

"Then, stay that way…" the monster laughed. "At least…for a little while longer."

Brilliant light flared like a dying sun in the base of the creature. It pierced the darkness of the cave, additional red spheres glowing white-hot. Ice shimmered as the power built inside of the creature. Light contracted, becoming denser and stronger. Zelos raised his hand, eyes burning from staring at it. They were shining—every last exsphere committed to their death, sickened by their own existence. Even without flesh to join them, they sought to act as one. He slipped a hand around Sheena's hips, holding her as the monster became a star in the dark, dead city.

Mana burst out in every direction as the monster exploded. It blasted through the hollowed-out chasm. The force cut a clean line through the ground. Stalactites shuddered, buildings teetering on the edge of the hole toppling inside. The group held their ground, watching with wide eyes as the former cores of the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge's ruins burned themselves out. Even amongst the tatters of diseased flesh left to dangle within the city, exspheres detonated and perished with their siblings. The party's exspheres glowed in sympathy with their fallen brethren. Each held a hand over their chest or hand, trying to soothe the sad souls still willing to serve their symbiote.

Tears escaped Lloyd, though he wasn't sure who was crying—himself, or his mother. Colette wept in turn, but dried his face, reciprocating the kindness he had given her. Presea stood as tall as she could manage, stone-faced. Genis wasn't so strong. He reached for her hand, trying not to feel the pain Marble must have been experiencing within his own exsphere. Adults did not cry. It was easy for Raine to repeat such a thought in her head. She glanced up to stare at Regal, his posture dipped in total exhaustion and sorrow. If she cried for any of them, it was for those standing broken and battered next to her.

The only one that didn't give into weeping was Zelos. The piercing agony of tears was in his eyes, but he didn't let it take him. He held Sheena tighter, thoughts more full of praise than they had ever been praying to a false goddess. He had her. He had them. His sister, his home, his kinsman and country—all were waiting above for him.

He felt at peace, knowing he could fight with a power stronger than his own sword and sorcerous skills.

/***/

Cold mountain air refreshed the battle-weary group as they approached Flanoir. Anywhere would have been better to rest than here. They were only swinging by the freezing city on Presea's demand. No one in the group was in shape to have company, really. Still, she demanded to stop by the city before returning to rest at Lloyd's home. If for no one else, then for the refugees of Altamira—those that awaited the return of their fallen duke.

Zelos had never seen the city quite so packed before. It was easy to tell who didn't belong. Tan-skinned people huddled for warmth next to pale natives, sharing hot drinks with those who were generous enough to help. Refugee and citizen alike stared at the strange group passing through Flanoir's gates. They were the strangest sight yet.

Even then, nobody feared approaching them.

Altamirans in blue and gray uniforms descended on the group. Even the most formal amongst them whooped in joy. Zelos flared with jealousy as girls dressed in little more than bunny costumes jumped Regal. More fussed over Raine and Presea, happy to see a fellow hunny and former mascot on the road. The commotion and energy spread fast throughout the city.

They barely heard an old man calling. "Master Regal!"

Colette reached into the crowd. She pulled out the gray-mustached man. "George! Here!"

The elderly gentleman beamed. He glanced about the party, cheeks rosy from the cold and his elation. He knelt beside Presea, then hugged the girl, not caring in the slightest about her filthy state. When the girl surrendered him, he took Regal's right hand. They bent forward, both patting each other on the back.

"You had us all so worried," George sighed.

"I am sorry that I was unable to come until now," Regal apologized. "We have had quite the ordeal."

George held onto his right shoulder. "All that matters is that you all are safe. Though, by your physical state, I imagine you all must have just walked out of the gates of hell itself!"

"It was difficult," Presea agreed.

"You must come with me at once!" George rattled on as he took Presea's hand. "Many nobles have taken refuge in Flanoir's cathedral. I know the king himself would be delighted to—"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Zelos put the brakes on George's motor mouth. "The king?"

George nodded. "Of course! What city on this planet is safer from invasion than Flanoir? Why, with this abominable snow and those jagged cliffs—"

Zelos clasped his hands around George's shoulders. "Then, the people from Meltokio evacuated here?"

"I thought you knew that," George raised a thick eyebrow. "After all, your sister and her attendants—"

"Seles?" Zelos shouted. "Where is she?"

"The cathedral," was all George got out before the redhead dashed off.

Snow danced in the wake of fiery hair and heels as Zelos rushed through the crowds. His friends followed in turn, apologizing to the wind-whipped assistant as they caught up to the wild Chosen. Monks and nuns wandered the cold courtyards, dodging out of Zelos' path. He marched up the slick steps to the cathedral, then threw the doors open with a mighty push.

Dozens of tired nobles sat clustered together in pews. Eyes all clapped on the redhead as he bolted to the center of the church. There, sitting with two servants, was Zelos' sister. She stood up, her large hat pinched between her hands. He scooped her off the ground, whooping with sheer glee. She struck him with her hat, hoping to settle him down. Leave it to her big brother to be a complete and total embarrassment in public.

"Zelos! Stop it!" Seles crinkled her nose, then pushed away from Zelos. "Geez, you smell like a pig barn! When's the last time you had a bath?"

"Yesterday. Had to use a wooden washtub. Wasn't great," Zelos laughed.

Lloyd's panting voice came over his shoulder. "Hey! My dad worked hard on building that tub!"

Seles tipped her head. "If I were to ask why you were here—"

"We killed the man-eater," Zelos explained. "Well, when I say we, I mean mostly Presea. Though, Sheena helped a lot. And I helped her. And Regal. Lloyd did some stuff too, but it wasn't important."

"You sure know how to make a guy feel welcome," Lloyd complained.

Seles put a hand over the right side of her face. "That's great, Zelos. Maybe you should tell those two."

Zelos spun on his heels. Staring at him were two grave-pale faces. Regal dropped to his knees in their presence, Colette and Presea both giving a quick curtsy. Lloyd was as thick as ever in the presence of nobility. Genis tugged on his shirt, getting him to do even the slightest bit of a bow. Zelos couldn't even manage that. A mixed-up emotion settled in his stomach, half-pride and half-guilt.

"Your Highnesses," Zelos addressed the king and princess of Tethe'alla.

Princess Hilda was more willing to approach the disheveled Chosen than her father. She took his hands, studying his condition. The exsphere below his collarbone was warm, surrounded by pink, sensitive skin. She touched it once, the redhead recoiling ever so slightly. A warm, genuine smile passed over her face. She lifted her hands, but not to throw around him. Clutching his hands, she held them just below her chin.

"I'm so sorry for what you underwent to save me," Princess Hilda apologized. "What I put all of you through…"

Zelos shrugged his shoulders. "Hey. It's kind of part of my job. No big deal."

The princess lowered her gaze. "When that creature had me…I was overcome with my own weakness. I gave up hope. How can I ever be anyone's leader when I am so weak?"

"Your Highness, you are young. You've got a lot of room to grow," Zelos smiled. "Who you are now isn't who you are going to be ten years from now. Just figure out what the right thing is, and keep doing it. You'll figure out how to do this noble stuff, too."

He leaned forward, then took her hands into his. It wasn't fair that he had mucked up her gloves with stains of his combat. He gave her delicate hands a kiss, then returned them. She flushed, blessed with the affection and embarrassed for her former actions. It was hard not to fall for him when he shared this kindness.

Sheena cocked her hip. "Damn. He's good."

"Indeed," Regal agreed.

"Okay, no," Zelos bristled. "She's allowed to say that kind of thing. You're not."

"What? I thought that was pretty charming, too!" Lloyd chuckled.

Zelos groaned. "I swear to Lady Spiritua, I'm never rescuing another dude again!"

"To think this is the man that saved my kingdom and my daughter," the king sighed.

Seles nodded in agreement. "You think that's bad? I'm related to that idiot!"

/***/

Author's Note:

Wait, don't go far! There's one last part after this!


	22. Chapter 22

Zelos spent the next few days like anyone who ever fought the ocean did—passed out on his couch.

He was hardly a dignified sight. All he could manage to do was bathe and put on clean clothes. His hair went unbrushed, soaked all morning long. He slept through rackets in the kitchen, his sister's prodding, the noise of people in the streets returning to their homes. Even when Seles shoved his legs aside so she could take a seat and read, he didn't stir. He needed to sleep, to clear his mind.

That didn't stop people from knocking on his door.

Zelos opened one eye. He leaned off the side of the couch, peering out his bay window. He found a blonde girl bent to the side, head parallel to his, waving at him from his front door. Zelos laid his head on the floor. He raised one hand, then waved back. It was hard to be mad when Colette came to visit him.

Seles glanced out the window. "Oh. Her. Want me to call Tokunaga, or—"

"I got this." Zelos rolled off the couch. He pulled himself up, then staggered to the door. As soon as he had the lock undone, Colette jumped on him. Zelos hugged her back, more than happy to receive affection from one of his favorite hunnies. A second laugh came from behind her. Lloyd had his arms crossed, smile bright.

"Good to see you two," Zelos greeted the duo. "What brings you to my cool cat crib?"

Colette's eyes lit up. "You've got cats? When did you get cats? I love dogs, but kittens are cute, too!"

Lloyd shook his head. "That's—ah, nevermind." He extended a hand, then gave Zelos a good shake. "We came to check on you. Nobody's heard from you since you left Flanoir. Just wanted to make sure you didn't pass out in a gutter or something."

"It's not comfortable to sleep there," Zelos let the dig slide. "Couches, though. Let me tell you, that's where it's at."

"You are okay, though. Right?" Lloyd asked.

Zelos nodded. "Of course! Kingdom's saved, hunnies are good to go—no need to worry about little ol' Zelos. How about you two?"

Lloyd shook his head from side to side. "We're getting back on track. It sounds like there may be some exsphere stashes passing through Triet soon. Colette and I are hoping to get the jump on some bandits."

"We bought disguises and everything!" Colette giggled. "They have these pants like you wear, Zelos. They're super comfortable. And these veils, too! They are so smooth!"

"You didn't buy that girl a harem costume, did you?" Seles shouted at Lloyd from her seat.

Zelos grinned. "You know who would look good in one of those—"

"Don't even bother finishing that sentence," Lloyd grumbled.

Throwing his hands up, Zelos surrendered. "Fine. Live with the beautiful, sexy mystery."

Colette clutched her fists, then hopped once. "So, what do you think, Zelos? Want to help us?"

"Well, I'll have to see if I have room on my schedule. I am a very busy man, after all," Zelos smirked.

"He's full of crap!" Seles called out. "He's done nothing but get drunk and sleep for the past three days!"

Zelos flushed red. It was hard to maintain his cool attitude when his sister was needling at his back. Both Colette and Lloyd giggled at his embarrassment. He managed to stomp his ego down and smile. If nothing else, he was glad to see his friends happy.

"Tell you what," Zelos offered. "Come on in, and we'll get you some breakfast. We can make arrangements then!"

Lloyd shook his head. "Zelos, it's almost noon."

"Well, lunch then!" the redhead exclaimed. "Yo, Sebastian! We've got guests!"

It was nice to sit down with his friends for a meal without having to plan for a fight to the death. The atmosphere was so much different when they were discussing hobbies or travels. Seles always had a good novel to share, gossip from abbeys and aristocrats. Lloyd and Colette had tales about busting up exsphere shops and helping travelers pass through forests. Zelos' stories—well, nobody ever believed them, but that didn't stop anyone from enjoying them.

They were halfway-through washing dishes with Sebastian and Tokunaga when another knock came from the door. Zelos dried his hands on the back of Lloyd's shirt, then went to answer it. He grinned, finding two silver-haired siblings on his doorstep. Maybe the Sages had seen Colette and Lloyd pass by. Just his luck that the Sylvarant squad would show up all at once.

"Professor. Brat. How can I help you?" Zelos asked.

Genis roared, "I told you to stop calling me that!"

Raine patted her brother's head. "We were wondering if we could stop by for a few minutes. You see, Genis and I are creating an expedition team, and—"

"Expedition?" Zelos echoed. "To where?"

Genis rolled his eyes. "Back into Morlia."

Zelos jerked away from the door. "You two have a death wish or something?"

"Don't you understand the value of the culture down there?" Raine stomped her foot. "We could be losing precious dwarven history! The damage we did to the ruins alone…"

"Fine, fine. I get it." Zelos led the two into his home. "Well, let's talk it over with Lloyd and Colette. I'm sure they'll want to help, too. Did you two get lunch?"

"Yes, thank you for—wait. Why are Lloyd and Colette here?" Raine asked.

Lloyd peeked his head out from the kitchen. "I was going to ask the same thing! Genis, Professor! Nice to see you both!"

"Nice to see you too." Raine echoed. "Can we help you with those dishes?"

"We've just about got it!" Colette exclaimed. "Go ahead and sit down, and we'll—" The rest of her sentence was lost to a dish shattering on the floor. "Oh! Oh, no!"

Seles shook her head. She shooed the blonde Chosen and Lloyd away from the sink. "You two. Get. Let the professionals handle this."

After the kitchen was cleared and cleaned up, the party returned to the front room. It quickly became packed. Zelos gave up his beloved couch for Colette, Raine, and Seles, opting to sit on the ground with Lloyd. Genis took a seat in the window. When everyone was comfortable, Raine launched back into her schemes.

"Like I was telling Zelos! We need to return to Morlia to document the state of the dwarven city we discovered." Raine smirked, then glanced at her dim pupil. "I'm assuming you'll want to come, Lloyd. Perhaps your father will be interested in well?"

Lloyd sighed. "I'll go, but no way will my dad go. He still thinks I went to hell!"

"You know, we sort of already have. Several times," Genis groaned.

"Well, it's not like we can let the Professor and Genis go there alone. I mean, it's all dark and spooky down there!" Colette exclaimed.

"You're absolutely right. But, we'll have to work it around Triet," Lloyd agreed.

Genis tipped his head. "Triet? What's going on there?"

"Something to do with exspheres and harem outfits," Seles snorted. "It sounds like something my big brother would scheme."

Sighing, Genis agreed. "He would make Sheena or my sister wear some disguise like that."

Zelos sighed, then leaned forward. "Now you're just tormenting me. Especially with Raine's dancing skills…"

The Professor cut his daydreaming short with a thwack from her staff. Lloyd chuckled, Genis trying to stifle a snicker. Seles rolled her eyes, then crossed her arms and ankles. If only Zelos had such a strict teacher in his youth. Then again, he was the image of his father. Perhaps his personality was an inherited, unbreakable trait.

Zelos rubbed his forehead. "So, you've gotten permission to go back there, right?"

Raine flushed. "Oh. I suppose we can't just trespass, can we?" She smiled, then chuckled to herself. "Well, then Regal will have to help us."

"And Presea! Don't forget about her!" Genis interrupted.

"Of course," Raine nodded, still giggling.

Lloyd tilted his head, confused. "Professor? What's so funny?"

"Sorry. It's really nothing," Raine apologized. "I was just thinking about what Zelos said earlier, and my mind wandered."

"You're not becoming a pervert like him, are you?" Seles grumbled.

"One can't always help their thoughts," Raine sighed. "There's a particular art form in the Triet region that emphasizes the control of core abdomen muscles to create an unusual sort of dance. If Sheena and I were to assist Lloyd and Colette in uncouth disguises, we would have to learn it to better blend our cover as traveling performers. Though, I think there is someone that would be more apt at learning such an art than any of us…"

"Not seeing the problem here," Zelos chuckled.

Colette and Seles picked up on Raine's implication quickly. Seles' face went from white to red. She covered her eyes, trying not to cry from laughing too hard. Colette was not nearly so quiet with her realizations. She clapped her hands over her mouth, then talked through them. "Professor, no! You don't think that—"

Raine shrugged. "He wouldn't be a more aesthetically pleasing distraction than Sheena or I, but Regal would—"

"No! No way! For the love of all that's holy—" Zelos' mind went blank as mental anguish stronger than an icy lance broke his brain. He scrunched up, hiding his face in his knees. His tortured thoughts vanished when pounding came from his door. "Oh, thank you, Lady Spiritua!"

His brain freeze came back in full force after he answered the knock.

Zelos could not process what he was seeing. He knew who was at the door, but he couldn't believe what they were carrying. Presea and Regal had four plants, all the same species of rose bush. They were already in wild bloom. The blossoms on the plants were mostly white, save for the thick, bright pink border on the edges of their petals.

"W-where?" was all Zelos managed to stammer.

"Presea!" Genis hopped from his seat. He took one of her plants, then carried it to the front room. "Wow, what kind of roses are these? They smell amazing!"

His sister's eyes widened. "A hybrid tea rose bush! Would you look at this? No doubt this is the product of crossbreeding white and pink roses until the desired trim effect occurred! Whoever created this subspecies is a master cultivator!"

"There is a retired biology professor who keeps a hothouse in Sybak," Regal explained. "Zelos, you would no doubt be familiar with her. Doctor Laurel?"

Zelos nodded his head. "Of course! She lived right across the street from this old piano teacher of mine. The entire street would always smell like perfume, especially at the end of the summer." He snapped his head up, then shook it. "Wait. How did you—"

"The Lezareno Company helped her construct her greenhouse, as well as provides some maintenance," Regal smiled. "She was more than eager to let you have a few bushes. I believe she thinks of it as good advertising."

"Uh…" Zelos' jaw dropped. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not used to receiving flowers from guys."

Regal chuckled. "It's Presea's gift as well. Perhaps that will soothe your ego. Now, where would you like these?"

"Out front's great," Zelos murmured. "Definitely…definitely want these out front."

When all of the roses were placed outside, Zelos' latest guests settled themselves in the living room. Genis was more than happy to share his window seat with Presea. She was cheerful, pigtails glowing in the afternoon light. Zelos hadn't seen the small girl happy in like that in so long. It was like someone had lifted a heavy veil from her.

"Well, now. Don't you look like a happy camper!" Zelos laughed. "Did you get to finish your vacation, Presea?"

Presea smiled, but shook her head. "I did not relax, after we parted ways."

Genis lifted an eyebrow. "So, what have you been doing?"

"I spent a couple of days working where I was needed. Soup kitchens, shelters, hospitals." Presea leaned her head back, then continued recalling her travels. "After that, I accompanied Regal to visit the families of his employees. Then, we stopped by Sybak University, and—"

"Sybak?" Lloyd asked. "Aren't you a little young to go there?"

Presea's face flushed. She shook her head. "N-no. It's not like that." She sighed, then explained her discomfort. "You see, a trust was set up there for my eventual education, but with some assistance, that money was converted it into a scholarship for students."

Genis' eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. "Whoa! That's amazing!"

"You don't want to go to Sybak? Are you nuts? You come out of there, and you make all kinds of money!" Zelos exclaimed. "Mostly, because it takes all kinds of money to get into there. Who would have—oh."

"So, that's what you two got into a fight about," Colette nodded. She then flushed and tried to hide her face. "I'm sorry. That's what George told me."

Regal turned his head away. "It was a point of contention, but…it is her choice. I overstepped my bounds."

"Not that I don't appreciate his generosity," Presea clarified. "I just don't need to make more than I already do. Besides, it feels good to be able to build homes for people."

"B-but aren't you worried about hurting yourself?" Genis asked.

Presea smiled, but shook her head. "I need hard work. It's just the way I am." She glanced at Lloyd, then cross her ankles. "However. Lloyd—does your father ever take apprentices?"

"Dirk? Yeah! He's super strict, but he'll teach you whatever you'd like!" Lloyd nodded. "What are you thinking about?"

Lowering her gaze, Presea held her smile and played with her gloves' fingertips. "It was amazing how you two saved Sheena's life. Between her, Colette, and myself…I want to learn how to carve key crests like that. Just in case we ever have another emergency."

Lloyd gave her a thumbs up. "You've got it! I know Dad would love to learn how to carve those bears you make, too! You two sure could share a lot of skills!"

Presea nodded. "Next time we meet, then."

"S-s-say, Presea?" Genis stuttered. "W-would you like to help Raine and me out, too?"

Presea's pigtails brushed Genis' face as she tipped her head. "What are you planning on doing?"

"Well, we were thinking about doing some expeditions in Morlia. And then Colette and Lloyd need help busting gem smuggling in Triet! We're going to assist them, if we can get our schedules straightened out!" Genis exclaimed.

Regal pulled his head back. "Morlia?"

Raine chewed on her lip. "Well, assuming we could get your permission, of course. I did plan on asking you." She gave him a sly grin, then added, "Obviously, we'll have to discuss additional scholastic opportunities, if you are feeling so generous."

Regal was unable to stifle his chuckling. "Of course. Is Palmacosta still after Genis?"

"Absolutely. We'll have to make some inquires." Raine nodded. "That's assuming that their professors are acceptable, of course. I'd hate to think that I could be doing a better job."

Genis rolled his eyes. "At least I'd have fewer bruises." He ducked a swat, then grinned again. Raine withdrew her staff, then sighed. He did have a point about that.

"While we're asking about learning things—" Colette interrupted. "Raine's looking for someone to teach her, Sheena, and me belly dancing. She thought you might be good at that too, Regal. Want to learn how? Or maybe can you teach us?"

Her absurd mind broke Regal's composure. "W-what?"

Raine tried to hold a poker face, but couldn't do it. "C-colette, that's not what I—"

"She stutters too," Presea noted. "It must be a family trait."

Seles shook her head. She hopped off the couch, then went to harass her brother. "So, what's it going to be, Zelos? Spelunking in hell? Going to the world's worst dance show? Laying around here like a mold? What are you thinking?"

Zelos glanced at the grandfather clock. "It's too early to start drinking, isn't it?"

/***/

The group spent the entire afternoon hammering out schedules to help each other out. It wasn't easy between Raine, Presea, and Regal's job conflicts, but they managed to get it accomplished. Sure enough, Zelos found himself embroiled in both investigations. It didn't hurt to get out of the house, after all. The last thing anybody needed was a lazy Chosen.

Even with their help, Meltokio was barely saved. They all needed more practice.

It was a lonely afternoon, but Zelos had no reason to be gloomy. He had his almost all of his best friends in the combined world with him. There was that sticking point—almost. He'd been spoiled by having everyone around that he missed the one person that wasn't there. Not that he blamed her. Sheena had a rough experience. She needed as much rest as possible.

While everyone worked on putting supper together, Zelos snuck off to his room. Even a social butterfly like him needed some down time. It was easy to hop from his balcony to the top of his roof. There was nothing that soothed him quite as much as watching the sun set. Well, there were a few things, but this was one of his favorite events.

As the sun dipped down, a shadow came upon Zelos. It was hardly the night sky's cloak. He smiled, not bothering to check who was there. Light feet shifted behind him. A graceful form took her seat by his side, not bothering with any greetings. He smirked. This was always the way it was with ninjas, coming and going as they pleased.

"How are you doing, hunny?" Zelos asked.

Sheena nudged him in the side. "I'm okay. Feeling a lot better." She sighed, then gave a low groan. "You would not believe how nosy Grandpa and Tiga were. I had to tell them what happened at least five times!"

"Yeah? My sister's been using me like a piece of furniture," Zelos complained.

"Well, if you weren't always lounging about, maybe she wouldn't make that mistake," Sheena teased.

Zelos feigned injury. "I'm hardly so soft! You, on the other hand, make for a lovely pillow."

Like every other time he got fresh, Sheena slapped him. "Keep talking like that, and I'll hit you!"

"Never can get your tenses right, can you?" Zelos grumbled.

The two let the argument drop. The sun was halfway beneath the ocean, spilling yellow and orange light across the sea. Lights in the street began to flicker on. Even with all this light, Sheena caught a special sparkle on the horizon. She poked Zelos in the ribs, then pointed it out.

"You see that?" Sheena asked. "In Mizuho's language, we call that the gold star. It only comes out at sunset."

Zelos lifted an eyebrow. "Gold?"

"Legend has it that long, long ago, the moon and the sun were supposed to be married. But, the gods split them apart because they were jealous of their love," Sheena recalled. "The moon and the sun decided to share a ring with each other so that when they were apart, they could think of each other. At sunset, it sparkles because they are together."

"Wow." Zelos smiled, letting the story sink into his brain. He chuckled, then asked, "So, can I keep the sardonyx?"

Sheena rolled her eyes. "Idiot."

Zelos leaned back against his roof. The pitch wasn't steep enough to slide off, but it made for a pleasant incline. Within a few moments, Sheena laid down next to him. Even if she called him names, Zelos didn't mind. That bright shine in her eyes said more than her vehement words would allow. He extended an arm, and she drew closer to him. Even in summer nights, the breeze could get a little cool this far up.

"So, what's that one?" Zelos asked, pointing at another star.

"The water star," Sheena answered. "It's from the tears of a princess. She cried over the man who died saving her from a giant snake. The fire star always follows it. That's his body reincarnated as a guardian of Mizuho. And that one—"

Zelos leaned next to her head. "The first flower that ever fell."

Sheena's eyes widened. "How did you know that?"

Zelos laughed, then tapped on his exsphere. "Probably picked it up when we were connected."

"Oh," Sheena replied. She smirked, then shook her head. "Hope you didn't learn anything else. Ninja secrets, you know."

"I know, I know." Zelos nodded, then urged her on. "Tell me about it."

Sheena raised an eyebrow. "But you already know the story!"

"Share it anyway!" Zelos smiled. "I've been waiting to be with you all day. It's okay if you don't really have anything new to say. I…I just want to be with you."

Sheena squirmed, then laid her head on his chest. Keeping her eyes to the skies did little to hide the warmth in her heart and the flush of pink on her face. "…So, there was this monkey that was forced to serve the gods of heaven, and he got into this goddess' wine…"

They continued back and forth, cuddled beneath the infinite heavens and talking about their glittering stars long after the sky became black velvet.

/***/

Author's Note:

I really, truly am happy to be here. And, I hope you are too.

Behave yourselves. Get your homework done. Eat your vegetables. (Maybe tell your friends about this story, if you liked it! Sharing is caring, hunnies.)

Thanks for reading!


End file.
